Houston's coming to town this Sunday. Who's the player on the Texans that scares you the most this week?
Really inderstood pass for Shure and rookie well c J Stroud scares me a little. But what really scares me about the Texans is is they still believe in themselves.
Welcome to jag Zam on this Thursday, presented by Field's Auto Group, Kai Nani Stevens, grind Sexton, John Over. You're here with us today as we get ready for Week three against the Texans. We've moved on from lost against Chiefs and now we're focused on this divisional matchup against the Texans. And John, as you mentioned, this team has struggled so far there oh in too, but th we're just early in the season, so it really hasn't crushed them at any point. They're not at a point where
they're winless still, you know, halfway through the year. It's early on.
They're ascending, or they believe they're ascending with a new coach, a new plan, so they're all still buying in and in the NFL early in the season, when teams still believe, when they've got a quarterback who can throw like Stroud, You never know it's going to happen, and they won't quit off of one early touchdown late in the season. You play a team like this, okay, well we know this team's better than we are. They're not there yet,
so they're always dangerous, even at home. Even though they have a rookie quarterback Brian for.
The first time in a couple of years, they've got their honest to goodness direction set right. I mean, the last few years they had David Cuckliffe and then Lovey Smith, and you just neither of those felt permanent because the quarterback wasn't there. They were relying on Davis Mills. It just felt like they were constantly in transition. Well, now they've got Demiko Ryans, who is one of the bright
young coaches in the AFC, and CJ. Stroud has the signs and showing all the signs of being an elite quarterback. He's got that capability. So it feels real and there's no reason for them to doubt themselves.
They just have to keep playing.
All right, let's go over our big things for this Thursday on Jags Am be better. The team needs to play better than they did in week two against the Chiefs if they want to win and they can't have a hangover. Part of the problem Doug Peterson said is he didn't feel his team practiced very well last week, and that's something taryor Lawrence talked about yesterday.
I agree, you know, we didn't. I think we were flying around quite as good as we were, you know, maybe the week before. And I think that's the adjustment when you get in the season and when you play these these long, physical games. You know, even take like the Colts game in the first game, I was a physical, tough, four quarter game, and you just got to get used to bouncing back and being ready to go on Wednesday Thursday for practice because you got to get the game
plan in. You got to get those reps to feel good about it. And you know, I don't think we did a great job necessarily last week of doing that, especially on Wednesday. So that's the emphasis week. The guys are ready to go. I think we're really locked in.
Guys are ready.
We got to bring some energy and get back on track.
There is something to be said for practicing like a championship team, Brian. I know Doug talked about that, but it's not something you take for granted. Not everybody knows how to practice like that.
No, although I think these guys learned last year how to practice as they went through that. I was I was surprised when I heard that from Doug, and then Trevor came up and said it, and everyone in the locker room talked about it, but nobody mentioned it on Sunday. You know, they kind of were pushed into a corner where they had to admit that they didn't have quite
as good a week. The good news for them is they had to admit it, they have to confront it, and they have to work harder because everyone's looking.
At them now well human beings. I mean, you know, they had a bad week, they had a bad game. I kind of buy in a little more to Doug's thoughts Monday when he talked about them pressing then I do the bad practice. It just felt to me when Doug and Trevor both talked about and even all the players were talking about how just fisting so tight, holding on you try to make a play. It's like when you're behind in a baseball game, everybody's tying hit a home run, right, That's what it's sort of felt like
and it made sense. Uh, the practice is it's fine. I think you can overcome.
I hope that's it.
I hope you're right, because if if you're not, I mean, if they just were human and didn't have a good week, then you have to ask yourself, well, why with one of the biggest games on your schedule and it's your home opener and it's the Super Bowl champions do you have a bad week?
Right? No one could explain it in the locker room issue, So I hope it was just a.
A tightness a In fact, that's how I described it on Monday. I hope that was the case, cause if you can't get up for the Kansasity Chiefs and the home opener and have a good week of practice, there's a bigger question to ask.
Hopefully a mix of both. Maybe they just got a little too excited for the game and took it. You know. I don't think they were ill prepared necessarily, but they definitely are gonna refocus this week at their practice. Second big thing this week is hold the line. A lot of the issues surrounding the offensive line injuries and then just not being able to hold the line in their game against the Chiefs. Now Talking to Trevor yesterday, he
said he's not concerned. He had some good meetings and he thinks things will be better this week.
I know those guys are gonna we had some great meetings this morning like we always do on Wednesdays, and some of our protection stuff, and these guys are gonna be just fine, not worried about it. You know, it's all of us. It's all of us playing together and communicating. And you know, I don't think any any player on offense played anywhere close to their best game on Sunday, So it's not just those guys. We all got to
be better and we will be. And I think we have the group that recognizes that there's nobody that thinks that they played great on Sunday and thinks that they're above any anyone else. So we understand where we're at. And I got a lot of confidence in those guys, and we'll put together a great plan and be prepared, and it starts today and they're gonna fly around.
We'll have a great practice.
John, how concerned should we be about the offensive line right now?
Well, I'm not concerned over the long haul because I believe it'll get fixed and with Cam Robbinson coming back will help. I believe the guys who are playing it just seems to me like in Anton, Harrison was playing their shoulder in camp, walk a little, had a hip, two ankles on garden center, Sheriff and Fortner and then Bartch's coming back. Not to make excuses, but that's a lot of stuff going on, and they just haven't felt powerful or in cohesion. But I think Doug talked yesterday
about something. It's a very key point that people miss offensive lines the hardest thing to get going because of the cohesion. You don't have enough repster in training camp because nobody hits like that anymore. So it usually gets better as the season goes on. I think if they stay healthy, get Cam back, that will start developing, because frankly it did last year. It started off rough in the first game and got better as it season went on. I think Rosh is a good coach. I have no
reason to think it won't get solved. But if it doesn't, it's back because that's hurt them in the first two weeks.
What do you think here?
He just said it all He's right, I mean, he said it, he laid it out it. I think the biggest takeaway that I had from yesterday's press conference was there's not a lot of reps in the preseason, and he played those guys in the Miami game to get them some, but still felt the urge to get them out before they got hurt. So there's none of that anymore. They just got they gotta work their way into it. Here's one thing to look forward to help is on
the way. You at least have a frontline starter in Cam Robinson who's back in the building, who will be able to play in week five. That will give you some flexibility with the injuries, some flexibility where you feel like you have some weaknesses. Maybe left guard, you could move Walker a little inside. If Anthony Harrison's shoulder isn't better, you know, you could move Walker little to right tackle. So you've got some flexibility on the way. Most teams don't have that.
Big thing for I almost left Brian speechless, speechless, like.
Here's where I'm going with this, and John just answered, okay.
All right. Our big thing three is lead the way. That's about Trevor Lawrence Doug Pearson, speaking in his press conference, the offense did struggle, but he said he has no concerns about Trevor.
He's a type of type of guy that you know, it bothers him when when he or the team doesn't play well, it bothers him, and it bothers a lot of guys, and you know, they I would say that we didn't practice very well last week, you know, and it starts there, starts in practice and being efficient and and you know, we've got to have good days coming up.
But you know, this team's been resilient that way, and they seem to respond, you know, to each other and the kinds of adversity that we sort of bring on ourselves.
Yeah, there's something to be said about how you bounce back from that adversity, Brian.
And in a very subtle way, Doug put his team on notice. Yes, he didn't have to say in front of the media yesterday that we didn't practice very well last week, because that became the story. Right everyone's talking about that now. But in a very subtle way, he let him know, this is.
A performance based business.
We all are judged on the way that we work all week long, and then it is to payoff on the field, and so now everybody's gonna expect you to have a great week of practice. I kind of like that.
He also said it in an answer about Trevor. I'm not saying he was saying it about the quarterback, but I think it was about that whole thing, and the quarterback needs to lead that. Look, I'm not worried about Trevor, I guess because if I was, the whole thing is in shambles.
Yeah, so he's a cornerstone, but that's.
Not what this is. I don't I've never thought that he is going to be an all time accuracy guy every week with twenty four twenty five passing. I think he's gonna have some misses, but he's going he's also going to have runs where he is red hot. He is such a good gamer, that's going to happen. I just think, Look, if there are four toe tap touchdowns that don't happen, and the guy's got Christian Kirk by his ankle and Christians bou to get away on Sunday,
if those plays go another way, we're not panicking. It was a game of inches game.
I think they're gonna be fine.
Well, back to the human part, I mean, you could have a great week of practice and then have a bad day, right, So we'll find out on Sunday, because talking to guys in the locker room yesterday, they had a good day on the practice field and they're planning, they're expecting, they're holding each other accountable to have a better day today.
So we'll see how that all works out.
I also think you know they had the ball, it's at the red zone with five minutes left in a chance to win.
They came up short.
Right, don't just start flushing and getting rid of things.
Figure out how to take what you got and make it work better. And that's what this week is about.
Absolutely, all right, stay with us. We're gonna move ahead and then we'll preview the matchup against the Texans as we do a deep dot coming up after and break. All right, Well back here in dag Dam Studio on this Thursday, and we're gonna talk Texans. Now, we've been talking so much about the Chiefs in that game, we've turned the pain. We gotta look at the Texans and we can't overlook the Texans as well. Watched some of their media availability and we're gonna go over some of
the sound bites now because CJ. Stroud really does sell all the right things. We've obviously in Jacksonville seen what a rookie quarterback looks like when they come in and you know, maybe it wasn't great the year before and they're trying to rebuild something. They have a new co coach, a new quarterback. And one of the things Stroud said that I really took to point was he wants to make others around him better. And he told a little bit of a story of how he got to that point in his career.
What does it mean to play quarterback?
Like what is like?
What?
What?
What's like your job? And I'm like to make plays? I don't know, like you know what I'm saying, like, and I said, to be a leader. He's like, yeahs right, Like being a leader, making players all that stuff is great. But he was like, your your main jobs and make people around you better, like on the field and off. And I took that to heart and ever since that moment, like, I'm dedicated a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of uh like mental capacity, a lot of
energy to that cause. And I told myself I would never go back, and I will never We're great. Not doing everything.
That's a helplessness. You can't teach all the time, and I think for him to understand that at the young age that he is, that's imposed well for him in the NFL.
Yeah, he's impressive and like a lot of quarterbacks who play at the highest level of college football, playing at Ohio State puts him in front of the media a lot. And clearly he has been well coached and whoever besides coaching right parents' mentors.
I mean, he's very calm.
He's an impressive young man.
Yeah, they're impressed with him. They think they've got their franchise guy. In terms of this game, the thing that maybe the Jaguars can be a little optimistic about.
He hasn't done a pick yet.
And he's been under pressure, Yeah, a lot of pressure. The percentages on that sort of start running out at some point, he's gonna make a mistake. This is a team that forces turnovers, the Jaguars. You wonder if the rubber meets the road on that this week. That's what I think the Jaguars are trying to get to.
And I think they will well, and they don't.
The Texans at this moment in time, don't have that game breaking alpha receiver like a Calvin Ridley who can get down the field and strike fear into your secondary, which means they'll probably feel more willing to take chances on some balls to make plays.
We'll have to see as far as the scouting reports. Stroud went on to say he knows a lot about the Jacksonville defense. Here's what he had to say.
First and foremost, their D line UH uh forty four and forty one great players, set the age, run around play well. Their D line really style, really big, and their linebackers twenty three thirty three actually played against Uh Devin and uh college two really good players not only in in run run in the run game, but also on pass coverage. UH thirty two Campbell, he's a really good DV Cisco UH somethow I know personally he's a good dude, UH, very aggressive, very uh good in coverage,
but also is is constantly making good tackles. Same thing with two. And then thirty seven comes in plays and Nickel plays really well. Thirty one's a solid corner. So I don't I don't want to name drop. I know all their names too, but sorry, but not a great defense all the way around, and.
Didn't want name check anybody, but he basically name dropped everybody started defense. So I was impressed. How much of it comes to studying early on and getting those habits, John, when you're a rookie, understanding what it takes to be a good quarterback.
Well, any quarterback and coach. When you start talking about the details of quarterbacking, we'll talk about whether a guy knows how to study film or not. Most quarterbacks don't come into the league knowing how to study at a high level. I don't know if you know he destruct he studies, does he yet know how to prepare at the highest level. Probably not, because it's a learned skill.
But when you're putting that sort of effort into it, if you're coached correctly, eventually effort and the coaching, the teaching yield a very intelligent quarterback. H All invcasion kids on.
Her way well, and look, he took the time to be able to go through the list and share it with the local media. They're in Houston, which is impressive enough. I can't say enough about the kid.
I like him. I liked him at Ohio State.
I think he's going to be a very good player, and I think the AFC South has a great chance to be a great quarterback division for years to come.
I know we talked a little bit about it yesterday, but he really seems like of the other rookie quarterbacks in the division, he's the one that you kind of see it already forming with him, even if it's just two games in right now.
He had a lot more experience with the ball in his hand than Anthony Richardson. And I think Richard had what thirteen games, three hundred passing attempts in his college career, and this kid put the ball all over the place, and he was accustomed to having great receivers. I mean, just look at the list, Chris Olavey, Garrett Wilson, Jackson Smith and Jigba and of course Harrison who's there now. So I mean he's a guy who understands the intricacies
of the passing game. At some point point in time, when he's got weapons in Houston talking about shootout.
Right, he stands in the pocket and there's the ball the right people, and that gets you a long way. And he seems like he's gonna get get to get better. As somebody said yesterday, if you're gonna get this team, you better get him now.
Better for sure.
Tamiko Ryan's first year head coach there. He's a new sheriff in town. Doesn't like to give away too too much, but he did say that Calvin Ridle is someone that's gonna be a problem for them to try to cover.
Calvin is an explosive playmaker, right he's wherever he catches the ball, you have to be ready. He's dynamic with the ball in his hands, really great hands on the on the perimeter of the defense. But he can also take those short passes that we talked about. He can go to the house. So when it comes to tackling, we have.
To be on it.
Make sure we're playing great fundamental ball outside ins and making him cut back inside. But Calvin is explosive, he's fast, he's dynamic with the ball in his hands, and it'll be a tough matchup for us.
Brian John, we were just talking about some of the injuries the team's dealing with. Brian, do you feel like Calvin can have a big day based on what the Houston Yeah, it's going to deal with.
Based on the injury report.
Yeah, both those safeties and Jallen Petrie is a really good player who you would think would be somewhere in the vicinity of zero on the Jaguars uniform. Whether he plays or not, it is a big question mark.
I don't think he practiced yesterday.
So you're talking about a team that is set up for the Jaguars to be able to go and do what they do at a much higher level than they did last week. Just a quick thought on Demico Ryant. He was a really good football player. He played for the Texans as a linebacker. Obviously, talking to people in San Francisco in the offseason, this is a guy who players loved playing for and you can see by his energy, the way that he the words that he uses that
players are going to love playing for him. In Houston, they finally have their guy.
This team they're on the way they feel like they have put together. In terms of this week, the question you asked Brian, anything the receivers have a chance to have game. The issue is to me is not so much the secondary. Can the Jaguars get their front blocked. I think once they get the front blocked, the story every week is going to be more about the Jaguars receivers. I don't think there's a secondary that can do a great job on this team if Trevor has time to throw.
So I think that's the key matchup on that side of the ball.
Worried about our line, but we do want to mention Houston's O line has had some issues as well, John because Stroud's already been sacked eleven times in two games. So is that partly him being quarterback? Is that line play rookie quarterback? Is that line players?
It combo both?
Yeah, I haven't watched their games enough to know what it is. They are beat up on the offensive line, they're strow on the offensive line.
I don't.
My sense is this is not a Stroud issue. It's an injury issue and it's where they're weak. So to me, this is the matchup that most favors the Jaguars is defensive front versus Texans offensive front, and it's one that a team that's rushing the passer pretty well is here in the day.
Wars ought to take advantage of it.
Well.
Larry Tunschel, who's their best offensive m and didn't play last week and is questionable for this week. I would imagine and Tyas Howard. Their right tackle is on injury reserve. So I mean, when you're going into the season, we're go into a game with your top two offensive tackles down.
That puts you in a huge hole.
Definitely troublesome. We'll see how things go on Sunday, coming up with us. Stay with us here, because we're gonna go over he will, he won't, he might for this week's matchup against the Texans. All right, we got our second divisional matchup of the year already, it's week three. We're gonna go with he will, he won't, he might. Brian will start with you.
I took Devin Lloyd because he's coming off a terrific game.
He had eleven tackles and was all over the field, So I think he will be the dominant defender on Sunday against the Texans. He just looks like he's starting to figure it out and get into that rhythm. You know, we thought we saw it in training camp. We thought we saw it during the pre but we didn't see enough of it. Obviously, he's a starter. I think we will see it on Sunday.
He won't. I don't think look lost again.
I mean he's just got this thing now, has figured it out. But he might be a guy who gets a sack and an interception on Sunday against the Texans because the rookie quarterback, as John mentioned, is due to throw not just one pick but one of those multiple meltdown sort of games. And he's been under pressure and Devin is equal parts rush the passer and drop back into coverage. So I think this could set up to be his kind of game.
Johnny Going was sixteen right before. He really won't he mate this week?
Yeah, And we usually try to dig a little deeper bit. He's a storyline. He is, he will.
I think he will have time.
I mean, I don't know that everything that happened last week was all a sixteen issue. It was cumulative. It seemed off with the receivers, the offensive last show. I think the line will give him time this week. He won't worry about the past. He's always been pretty good at bouncing back. He handles everything all right. He's under a little bit of criticism, probably a little personal pressure.
I can't play that way in he handles that sort of thing fine, And he might and almost went with a second he will, but it's kind of a confining thing.
So he might. He will.
I think he'll have a I have a big game, a couple of touchdowns. I don't care to say about his touchdown passes, but I think he'll get this offense going in the right direction. I think it'll feel better. Maybe not great because the Texans are a good defense, but there will be signs after the game of okay, this is going in the right direction, but.
Hopefully a big bounce back day for everybody on offense. I went defense though, because I went Traymon Walker for he will, he want? He might. I think he will have a day because, as we mentioned, c J. Stroud has been sacked eleven times already the season. I think Trayvon Walker will sack him on Sunday, and I think he won't have any issues with the offensive line. We
mentioned a lot of there. We our offensive line we're worried about, but Texans offensive line has a lot bigger issues as they've allowed that many sacks so far this year, and of course they're dealing with injuries as well. And he might lead the team in sacks after this game. I'm not really sure, but I think he might be able to out do Josh. I know Josh is still
dealing with that shoulder injury. I think if Trayvon has a big day, like we saw what the pass rush was able to do against another rookie quarterback in Anthony Richardson, if Trayvon goes off, he might might jump his way up the line.
And if Trayvon goes off, he might make it a lot easier on Josh when he does get his pass rushes in and Calebon chas on who came alive last week. This is Calebon's hometown team, so maybe he can build and put together back to back strong performances.
I don't think anybody would be mad about that if we got some production out of Kalebon.
By the way, it's Walker Libble's hometown team.
We have a bunch of Texas guys.
And those two guys played together at Episcopal High in Houston. They were high school teammates.
Oh very cool.
We love a fun fact wonderful stay with us, So I'm out We're gonna go around the locker room right before we give our predictions for the Sunday's game. Jags fans, if you want customized Jaguars furniture for your home. Check out zipchair dot com to browse all customizable options. Zip chair is furniture for fans.
That sucks.
You know.
As a offense, we we wanna be the best. I mean, we wanna move the ball in when you go in the game like that and the defense plays like that versus the you know, the super Bowl champs and the offense that we're supposed to be. You know, I tell you right now, all of us on offense, the starters, we we were pissed off about that performance and that we couldn't come through for the for the for the team.
As you know, the offense. Whatever we're not, we know the officers gonna handle what they need to handle and once once that time comes, we're gonna be rolling. And uh, you know that's what we're really really excited about. Defensively, we have to keep up, keep it up, and uh, we keep putting ourselves in positions.
To get the ball back to offense.
No sense of panic in that locker room. I think everybody's a that things will get back on track this week and hopefully the offense will look like what we expected them to look like before the season started. So let's go through our picks who you guys got this weekend Against the Texans in Week three.
I think the Jaguars win. I think it may be a little similar to Week one in the sense that you know, I'm not big on predicting blowouts in the NFL because I think it doesn't happen all that.
The team blown.
Out often has to make unforced mistakes. To have that happen, you have to have a bagging to get a blow But I do think you can win convincingly and impressively, and I think the Jaguars will win something on lines of you know, twenty eight thirty to maybe fourteen and feel really good about it.
Right.
I think what you'll feel, John is that they'll be in control, right, They'll come out, they'll handle business, they'll score early. You know, they'll keep them at arm's length the whole way through the game because they're a better team, they are more healthy, or they're playing at home and as you just trick Calvinsator pissed off.
Yep, it's fair to expect them to do that.
I think, yeah, absolutely, and I think we should set the bar high for them always and definitely a bounce back week for them. I'm going to go. I think twenty ten is what I'm going to go to because I hope the defense can. They've they've shown that they can handle a workie quarterback, and I think with stroudstaying in the pocket, they might have a really good week.
And you know, both of you just picked it twenty eight or more points right on week that they're coming off of not scoring a single touchdown. I think that's the expectation, right. We've seen enough of this offense. We understand what's there. So if that's what we're saying, now, you understand why there's a confident in the locker room when you hear a guy like Josh allency. We're not worried about them.
Their confidence makes us confident.
Well, I mean, there was a time around here where twenty eight point seemed like an intermountable obstacle. It's kind of interesting to not be in that position anymore.
Times are good, for sure, all right. Sunday's matchup against the Texans is brought to you by Renewal by Anderson A better way to a better window. Visit RBA FLA dot com get your tickets if you want to come out and check out Week three here at the bank. Until then, we'll see you on Monday with a full recap of all the action