Day eight of training camp is getting started right now, Brian, John, who were you most impressed with since the.
Pads have gone on Tuesday?
What are you saying?
We are you most impressed with since the pads of Walker and the.
Way that he's played in one or one matchups.
Yeah, I would have gone with Walker, but Brian took it, so I'll go so far with a hesitant understanding and needs to show more. Uh, calebon Chase Don has looked awfully good at times.
Welcome into jags Am. It's August third, and we are in day eight of training camp.
Who's a live look.
They're getting out there, getting stretching, getting going, and we're got you covered with all of your jags Am news that you need today. Now we did mention pads went on Tuesday, so things have been a little bit different this week, and not necessarily players you've been seeing, but it's a different vibe now right.
It feels like it's officially started.
I think that's true. I think you've got guys that understand that now they're expected to perform, not that they weren't before, but the evaluation takes on a different level here and John, we'll start talking about another week or two, the reps start becoming more and more precious for the guys who are on the bottom of the roster because they become fewer and fewer as we get closer to the start of the season.
Yeah, no doubt, And I thought, I think everybody who watched it thought that yesterday's practice was a little sloppy. But Ryan o'haller ran from the Buffalo News he used to be here with the Floda Times Union kind of came to me afterward and laughed. He said, how many times have we seen it where the second day in pads is sloppy because it's always Yeah, they're getting used to it again, they've had that one day. You're a little draggy, So I expect today to be much better.
Kai all right, our big thing number one, and obviously that the pads are on now. Head coach Doug Peterson talked to us yesterday, talked to the media, and he talked about at this point in the training camp he likes to just get that physicality out there and kind of set the tone and see what this team will be going forward.
A camp progresses, right, you want to establish an identity, you want to you want to have some sort of physicality about you with the pass rush, and so yesterday it was just trying to do that, trying to establish that physicality, trying to establish you know, that sort of that persona of who who can we be?
I thought that sound by yesterday said everything about how the league has changed. Right when Doug was a player in the nineties, there wasn't some sort of physicality that you were trying to establish. That was what training camp was. I mean, far be it from me to sound like the old man in the room, but they used to practice twice a day in full pads. Topic manus was out there when there's imagine if you only had one
a day and how well you'd perform. But the reality of it is is that it was all about physicality. That's what the football game is about physicality, and it tells you exactly how a coach has to navigate training camp with limited hitting to protect his salary cap and his team going forward. It told to me I just that was everything.
Well, I am the old man in the room, so it's not close to the same. And training camp really, if anybody went to training camp from I started coming nine five from N ten they would not call what happens now training camp no, because you go to practice in the morning and then you're off the field, especially with the media.
I mean, we're at.
One practice that we don't see anything else for the rest of the day, and he used to be two days. It's a completely different thing. So it's it's a bunch of practices strung together, but now that you're off my lawn, Kai, that's on. The interesting thing about what Doug says is how much coaches have to have a plan now for how to get your team physical because there's an acknowledge
around the league. You cannot hit I expect him to hit hard, mean idea players hitting hard maybe twice sometime in the next eight practices, but you cannot do that every day anymore and expect to survive and get your team to So you have to plan it out and be very careful of how you're going to be a physical team. Much different, as you say, Brian, than you used to be well.
And it kind of ties into my Caldwell from the day before. The defensive coordinator was asked repeatedly about a tackling plan and how do you practice tackling. You didn't even think about it. Back then, you just did it. That was part of the day. You were in full pads twice a day, and so tackling wasn't even part of it. You really have to think it out, and for all the right reasons. I mean, player safety has
become a huge issue. You're in the hottest part of the year down here, and you can't afford to replace guys in the salary cap e were like you could before, So you got to be smart. It's just a completely different approach.
Would you rather be a great tackling team, kay, or have Calvin Ridley and Josh Allen to start week one?
It's a fine line to walk. You want to protect your players, the talent that they have out there. You want to have them when the season starts.
The old school coaching, I want both. Why can't I have both?
Uh? Because now if you do that, you're going to get your bet fired at the end of the season for losing players.
And being dumb.
And Doug is not dumb. He's very smart. So it's a fine line to walk. And he's doing a great job. But do you want to talk a big thing? Number two is year two, right, so for everybody in the coaching staff and a lot of these players dealing with their system for the second year round. Josh Allen spoke to us on the first day of pads and he said he's liking what he's seeing so far in terms of the game plan and kind of how they're going to go about the pass rush differently this season.
There's a lot of new calls that I really like. You know, I want to see them every week because I think they'll really work for us. But in order to do that, we have to be successful all.
Here one on them.
So you know, I saw new calls, the new plays that benefits us. Let's let's take it up alot on k nots.
Brian.
What do you take out of what he's saying in terms of how they're going to try to rush a little bit earlier. I mean, we put so much focus on the pass rush. That is it simple as that, Well, just trying to rush earlier in the downs.
It's mixing things up a little bit. Remember, Mike was his it was the first year defensive coordinator. You know, he had been a linebacker and a linebacker's coach for a long time. But when you're actually having to make the calls and to adjust, And I think that was
the interesting part. We talked about Mike Caldwell's lack of adjustments at time last year, and he basically said after the season and before practice the other day that that's just part of the learning curve for him to be able to know what his players do well and where he can make adjustments. He feels much more comfortable in year two, and so the players do, and now he knows what Josh Allen likes to do, wants to do, capable of doing. Will he feel comfortable rushing the passer
on first down really going after him? We'll see, even that's a quarterback and not a quarterback.
It's hard to know what they're saying in terms of how it's going to translate toys sair on the field, because they're not gonna give away what they're doing, nor should they. I thought the most interesting about what Mike Caldwell said about this was how he felt like at times last year that I don't want to say, micromanage,
but tried to make the perfect call every time. And it certainly sounded to me like there'll be more instances of just letting the players play and trust that if you get them in the right defense, generally speaking, more often, that there's talent out there to make the plays, and that you don't necessarily remember he came from a Todd Bowles system where Todd had had infinite experience and it's
very detailed and it's bringing something new and unique every time. Well, I expend to keep doing that, but it certainly sounded to me like he's backing off that a little bit and saying, keep it simple, go play football.
So think also about all the guys who were together, right, So, yeah, Foyer Lucon who was new last year, lining up next to two young players in Chad Mumma and Devin Lloyd, and you had a young Trayvon Walker, and you had fully fought Tukasi in the middle, and you Andre Cisco had moved into the starting lineup. Everything was new and they didn't know so new coordinator, new players, new scheme.
Trying to be complex.
Absolutely, so this year that should all change. So I think what Josh is really stating is the obvious is, Hey, we're ready to take that next step and to be a better football team. Now we've got the communication down and we understand what the guy next to us is capable of doing, and we trust him to do his job so that we can do ours.
You're hoping I'll freeze up a little more creativity, obviously adjustments, and maybe we'll see something a little bit different. Obviously what they did, you know, wasn't quite working for him. So hopefully this year we'll see something a little bit.
I thank you because Todd Bowles is super aggressive and and I think my cold will will now feel comfortable with what.
He's Scott all right, let's hope.
So our last big thing of the day is not yet we don't have a SoundBite about it necessarily, but it's that, you know, he gets so hyped about training camp coming up, and then we talked a little bit about it already, but yesterday it was kind of a dud. Wasn't a great practice, right, And it was that first uh well second practice, the first practice after the first padded practice, and he kind of saw a little bit
of a letdown. And I think it's important for us to remind people that as excited as we are for football to come back, this is a grind. It's training camp, right, We've talked about they're gonna have those you know, three four hard practices right in a row, coming up with us in stadium scrimmage on Saturday, and it's just kind of tempering some expectations a little bit, not to like get anybody less hype, but just be like, yeah, they're
gonna have an off day. Well, bout today is a big day to see, you know, if they can get back on track.
Maybe.
Well we're still five weeks away from the regular season, so I'll clarify I said, I said earlier. I thought it was a sloppy practice, but I didn't think it lacked intensity.
I think effort was certainly there.
Yeah, I thought it looked sloppy to us because there were a lot of balls on the ground. They hadn't been on the ground yet. But Brian, you wrote about it, and I did too. The one on one coverage drill was as intense as I've seen a drill this practice, I mean, uh, this training camp. And I was struck in trying to write it later. I was struck by how to sort of phrase it. Of I didn't think they were necessarily not improving just because passes were being dropped.
There was really hard work between the corners covering these guys. Between guys getting open. So I thought, I'll bet if you asked Doug held say, it was a fine practice the defense had. This team is not going to drop passes. I mean, Calvin Ridley I think had four drops. Well, his history shows us that that's not going to be his norms. I don't worry about that. I don't think they lost any ground. I don't think you lose grind
at one, but just part of the problem. You will see efficiency pick back up as guys get more used to be in past.
I just want to point this out. The first rep between Calvin Ridley and Tyson Campbell, it was a nasty little move that Calvin used to get open and it turned Tyson around and Tyson was really hot with himself before the second and by the way Calvin dropped the ball. The second rep, Tshaye Townsend comes over and grabs Tyson, like I wrote, like a boxer and his manager in the ring, and across the field here comes Trevor Lawrence to do the exact same thing with Calvin Ridley. I mean,
there was such a competitiveness to it. And the thing that I loved, which I thought was really good at practice, was every other defensive back watched that want to be Tyson. They wanted their matchup no matter who they were lined up against with right to be as intense as that. It sets a tempo and expectation level for how the defensive backs are going to play.
I thought it was an important moment absolutely, and to see one on one, the best of the best going against each other, how could you not like improve from that and enjoy watching it as well. So hopefully the team takes a lot out of that. Coming up practice is underway today, we're going to keep an eye on things and we're going to talk a little bit about some of the lesser talked about players that are trying to make this fifty three man roster. Welcome back to
jack Sam. We're sponsored by Sutteth is Flora's most trusted and reliable moving company. Sutus is proud to be the official moving partner of the Jacksonville Jaguars. To get a guaranteed quote, visit suttith dot com slash Jacks. All right, we're gonna talk about the fifty three because obviously everyone in training camp wants to make that final roster, and there are some names that we don't talk about a ton or maybe just people that are doing really well
in training camp that you didn't necessarily have your eye on. So, Brian, who did you want to talk about today that you've either seen out there or needs to have.
A really good training guy that I've seen every day a young man named Devad Wilson, who is a UCF undrafted rookie free agent, a cornerback. He started at Georgia and then transferred to UCF. He's a big guy, so he's got length. He's six foot, he's one hundred and ninety pounds, long, arms of big hands. So he made plays yesterday. I made three pass deflections on Wednesday against first and second team receivers. He was more than holding his own both sides of the field, middle of the field,
he was flopping, he was inside. He showed me a depth of ability and I was really impressed with the kid. And then start talking about special teams, because a guy like this, if he's gonna have any shot at the fifty three, it's gonna have to be a contribute on special teams. Same thing, he can do a lot of different things. Gunnar line up inside on coverage teams. He's an interesting talent. I'm looking forward to the chance to actually talk to the kid and figure out if he's
got the mental makeup for this game. But it sure looks like he's a player who's going to be challenging at the bottom of the roster for one of those spots. Talented kid in john what's looking like a deep group of young defensive backs. I know you're not gonna mention him, so I will Eric Hamlet, the safety from pitt six or seventh round pick. I forget there were so many of them. He broke up a couple of passes yesterday and looked like a guy who was, you know, starting
to get his legs underneath him. So as I watched you know, Hamlet and Wilson in particular, I said, there is a group of young defensive backs and that's important. We said this was a storyline for training camp and an important one. It looks pretty good right now.
It's deep. I think you still want them to rise and see somebody who will prove it on the field that they can't do it. Is that maybe your guy John Well, probably not in the sense that Brian's talking about. I went with Antonio Johnson, and people say, well, I've heard of Antonio Johnson.
He said a couple of really good days.
But remember, it's all about me, and it is.
Before we started the show.
It's all about john My approach though, and anybody who ever listens to me or bothers to read me when I expect nothing from rookies, including first round rookies, I just don't. Typically they need a year to be the impact guy, you think, and so I don't pay much attention to him in camp exceptsode. Okay, Well, he's gonna be around. Antonio Johnson might be an exception, and I know everybody's excited about him. He's slid in the draft.
Usually those guys who slide in the draft don't quite work out because you've heard of them, but there's a reason they don't get drafted.
Right.
Well, all of a sudden you start watching him in practice, and he makes a play every day every day. We talked this morning, special teams. He clearly is excelling in that area.
Make the team sometimes at the end of a roscie.
Yeah he'll make the team, but it sounds like he's gonna be a special team start.
He's gonna have a rule.
I don't know that he's going to be the nickel guy that everybody wants him to be this year. Fans as me all the time, he's gonna be the nickel And talking to Jeff Logham on the field yesterday, we're talking about different guys, and he said, you know, just don't quite see him being able to cover in that nickel spot the way you have to. But as a future safety, Oh yeah, all of a sudden, and the
future could be late this year. Yeah, all of a sudden, You've got another guy who you believe can be a really good position player for you to build as you go forward and to help Salary Cavey. He's everything that you think you want in a developmental guy. News flash. I'm excited about a rookie.
Hey kid. I made a conservation about him earlier this week. He was covering in one on ones Jamal agnew that's tough for a rookie, but he stayed close enough that when CJ. Bethler just tried to drop the ball high and into his hands in the end zone, that he went up and high pointed the ball and got it away. It was a tremendous athletic play. And I wrote that day this kid's going to have a future, and the
future could be this year. I really think that he's going to work his way into Mike Coldwell's scheme somehow, some way. There's no doubt you have your eyes on a rookie and are interested in him because he's making you beat that.
Yeah, not a matter of when, but how quickly with him. It really feels like from what we've seen so far, at least the person I picked is not a young player. In fact, it's fully fought to CAUSSI who came here on that three year deal, paid him a bit of money, underperformed last year. I think fair to say a lot get a caph injury that I think, Yeah, he definitely, you know, was lingered. I was hurt by that, and then also a new system as well, everybody was dealing with.
You know, he's a new player to the team.
But Doug doesn't name check a ton of people, and he's brought him up at least two or three separate times since camp has begun about being impressed with his effort out there, what he's been able to do. And if your head coach is seeing you with all that's going on and saying how much he's expecting out of you in the second year in a system. I think there's a little bit of pressure on him, but he's rising up to that from what we've seen so far.
Well, If he's good Brian and Kot, Yes, then all of a sudden, you're really good on the interior of the defense without needing to help in the interior Devon, Hamilton, Foyer, Fightacosi. All of a sudden, you've got three guys where you're not trying to pinch down, you're not trying to always help there. That should help what everybody's concerned about, which
is the pass rush. And then all of a sudden, you're really good against the run, which usually teams that are good against the run get better against the pass rush because they're in better pass rushing situations. So he's really important. I admit I was one of those people last year that maybe had written them off a little bit as Okay, he's gonna be okay, but not gonna be an impact guy because he didn't really see it last year. If he's that, then all of a sudden, this defense gets better fast.
You saw it early in the preseason opener against Cleveland first series, Roy Robertson Harris, Devon Hamilton and fully fought Ducossi dominated. Remember that's a powerful running game in Cleveland. Even if they didn't have their stars in there, those three guys dominated and fully left that game with a calf injury, didn't play again in the preseason, was questionable for most of the month of September every single you know Wednesday injury report, and then he started to get
into the flow in October. I'm not making ex uses for him. I think he's got a lot of ability, and if he stays healthy, I think we'll have a chance to see what John just talked about.
Well, sometimes, guy, you know, sometimes teams in a sense do a player a disservice. And I'm not saying it it's malicious or that it shouldn't be done. But when you don't talk about injuries, which football teams hate to do, they do, then all of a sudden, fans and even media think, well, this guy is not playing very well. I think Brandon Sheriff fell victim of this last year
as well. I think both of those guys, Sheriff and Podocasi could you know, quote surprise Jaguar or as followers this year by being really good, because I think both of them played through things last year. They really held them back.
All right, we'll have to remain to be seen, but he could be a linchpant. If he can get that together, it could help the rest of the defense come together as well. All right, stay with us. Coming up, John's gonna answer some of our questions with the ozone mail bag and we'll be right here in the Hundai studios when you come back. Today's edition of Jags Aam is brought to you by Fields Auto Group, Jacksonville. You can
step up to luxury Fields Auto dot Com. All right now that we are checking out on training camp right now, they're getting doing some drills right now. We're I think is a longer practice today as well. I know yesterday went closer to two plus hours.
It looks like this is gonna be right at two if I'm reading the schedule right.
All right, so another long one for them. We'll see how it goes. And you're going to answer our questions from the readers because you're so wise and we always like when you can impart some wisdom.
We'll see what the questions, what she wanted from you that she's buttering you up that way. She has a good eye for talent.
Ord.
Her first question is from Chris. He says, what happens when you add an elite receiver to a top ten offense? Asking for a friend, Well, everything, they're all better. Everything is good.
There's really three things on this. I think one is you get the plays that you get from the guy, which sounds sort of self evident. But you get special that maybe you wouldn't have gotten if somebody normal had been there. I would expect Calvin Ridley, who expect to be the one, obviously once a month at least, and anything about that. That's every four games. It could be a big difference to make some kind of play where you go, whoa, I haven't seen that around here in
a long time. We'll think about what that does. It gives you seven points in that game, probably big difference in the NFL, so I think it gives you that. It also forces defenses to account for them, which obviously makes everybody else better, which is a real thing. But the biggest thing I think a top ten elite guy
gives you is for the quarterback. You know how a defense has to play a top ten guy, so it means that you can throw to him when he is open, and you know when he has doubled that you have easy reads for the rest. So I think it gives the quarterback a much clearer idea of what he's going to do on each play, which for a young guy, and Trevor's going to be great, but he's still young, having a comfort when you're back in the pocket can be everything. So I think he's going to help immeasurably,
and just intuitively on third and six. Having a guy where you know he's gonna be and you go back there and you're under a blitz and you just throw it. That's very that's grade school analysis, but I think just instinctively that's going to help him.
For a technicals perpective perspective, he gives you spacing, which is how modern offenses are constructed. They're trying to get their playmakers in open space in one on one matchups and let their athleticism take over. That's what he gives you, not just for himself, right, but when you've got him, as John alluded to, and the coverage is rule, then they're spacing for Evan Ingram's a Jones Christian Kirk Traves
Etiana to the backfield. He allows you to space a defense out and create one on one matchups.
And very quickly, just thinking about what we saw yes day in the field, how hard Tyson Campbell had.
To work to cover him for hard?
Can you imagine having to do the whole game exactly? So it gives you that, it gives you this feeling of he's coming at me every you know, everybody on the defense. We have to worry about this guy all the time, a little bit like when the Jags were trying to play the Chiefs last year with Kelsey, a guy you've got to worry about or you are going to lose.
And that's a great analogy because Tyreek Hill was the ultimate spacer. You were so concerned about where he was that Travis Kelcey had no problem finding his room in the field. Same thing with all the other receivers they've had there. That's what Ridley gives you.
All Right, let's get some more advice from John while we can. We've got a question from Steven Nashville. He said, last year, the Jaguars claimed five players off waivers on cutdown Day. Is it possible that the players for all fifty three of the final roster spots are currently on this team.
You know, the question veers in the right way, meaning there's gonna be less angst at cutdown day for this team, and I think you will see less bottom of the roster churn. I don't think it's realistic to think all fifty three are here because usually during that cut down you're gonna lose something. You're gonna want some special teams
guy you've seen, so maybe one, but I don't. Clearly the roster is better, and these coaches know more about these guys they've brought that guys they I won't be as many, but it won't be zero.
This roster is as good as it's been in a long time. I would think if there was a shot ever to get all fifty three, this is the year. You know we were talking earlier about all the young defensive backs. I mean those are guys who from a special team's perspective, these guys are going to build around. I'll throw it out there, I say, they don't go roll roster trolling unless there's this high profile pass rusher
that everybody wants to get their hands on. I say, the fifty three or here for the first time.
Maybe in franchise, always that Tim taste and the GM or a scout. There's always some guy out there, and I liked Tim a year ago, so maybe. But yeah, I think there's a chance.
There's always a chance, by the way, that might only be one week, right, it might be. I think there's also something we said. I think this roster in certain position groups too, there might be a lot of people from this team that don't make the roster here that may end up on a roster somewhere else.
Especially on the O line. I think the O line is deep with guys who are going to go play somewhere else.
It may not be the best offensive line in football, but it might be the deepest group of offensive lineman. You go look at other training camp rosters and find me ten guys that you can plug and play, that can go from left to right, inside, outside like this group. I had one coach that I was talking to the other day said, it's rare that you've got guys like that.
There may be a lot of other teams that have superstar players that this team may lack, but one to ten this might be the deepest group in the league.
All right.
Our last question is also from Steve. He's writing in and he says, when Antonio Johnson was drafted, there was talk of him being a slot cornerback. I feel like a lot of experiences needed for that position.
What do you think?
Yeah, I don't worry about his experience in that and I sort of left this out of we talkedut earlier with him. I don't think it's experienced it's going to hurt Antonio's chances to play. I just don't know if he's a slot corner in that sense that people think. You know, if you look at him and Trey Herndon, Trey hearn is a cornerback, and I think it's it's harder than people think to go from safety and then go play the guys that you would be covering in
the slot. As a quote, nickel corner is the reason guys play different positions in his place. So experience wise, if a guy can play, you can play, and you throw him out there. But I don't think it'll be experienced as much as maybe the skill set doesn't quite match up with what people think.
You know, fifteen sixteen years ago, we had a cornerback group here with Rasheen Mathis and Brian Williams, and we had a nickel corner named Terry Cousin who they drafted, didn't draft. They signed him specifically to deal with the Colts and the threats that the Colts preceived. And Terry was an excellent, maybe the best nickel corner we've ever had here in Jacksonville. And I asked him once, what
does it take. What's the difference? He said, you have to have a mindset of being comfortable in the middle of the field at all times because it's much more congested. True, you're on an island outside right where you're going to be embarrassed at times by the way this thing goes and you have to forget and move on. But in the middle of the field, there's so much happening. You
either are comfortable with it or you're not. And if Antonio Johnson has it become comfortable with it by this point, he might not ever get comfortable.
I think he can be comfortable in there. I just I don't know if he's that pure cover guy in the NFL listen cornerback experience to play a nickel corner, it seems to me would matter. I could be dead wrong. I haven't seen it on the field yet. It's just sort of what I would I would expect.
There's a big difference between being the nickel corner and being a.
Safety, and his role has yet to be defined, so we will see going forward where he ends up playing. All right, say well us, we'll talk about what we've got coming up the rest of the week. Who's talking today and what you have to look forward to. Jags fans, do you want customized Jaguars furniture for your home? You can check out zipchair dot com to rouse all customizable options. Zipchair is furniture for fans. So we've got padded practice is back, came back on Tuesday, We've got the stadium
scrimmage on Saturday. And Calvin Ridley speaking after practice today, what are you guys working on, what are you looking forward to?
What are you expecting over the weekend.
I'm starting to get ready for next Saturday's broadcast in Dallas, my first game, our first preseason game, right, which means I'm spending a lot of time with the second and third teams, not as much with the starters because they're not going to play as much. And you really have to know these guys, so really digging in on the backups.
I'm loving for to Calvin talking to it. I always enjoy the confidence he brings. Interesting early in camp and talking to Josh Allen about Calvin when he called them a dog and said, look, this guy's the real deal. Josh was watching Calvin's first press conference back in the middle of OTAs and Josh wasn't here, and he said, I loved his attitude. It spoke to what I was
wanting to do. He's a guy that you wouldn't think necessarily think of as a leader, but I think in the locker room he is a you know, because he just got here, but I think he I think he can set the tone for all I thinks his locker room in terms of his confidence.
He's a natural leader. He's the guy that people just want to follow because they want to be around him.
And multiple players we've heard from so far to comment on how he practices making them want to practice like that.
Yeah, I think in that way, so and every defensive back who lines up against him. Practice is really hard.
You have to she want to get embarrassed.
Well, and lots of good guys have been already in camp.
Absolutely all right, We'll keep an eye on everything. We'll be back with you guys on Monday. As always, we appreciate you and we'll see soon.