Ep. 55: Déjà Vu? Breaking Down Win-and-In Matchup vs. Titans | Jags A.M. Podcast

Congratulations, Congratulations, congratulations. Winning is fun, right, Winning is fun. Winning is fun. My hat's off to everybody in this room. We've battled and you were battle tested. Okay, you're battle testing you guys. Continue to stick together. Great things is gonna happen this football team moving forward.

Okay, you just got to continue to believe, continue to believe in one another.

All right, great job.

We gotta finish with one down. Okay, ready, one, two, three.

Welcome to Jags Am. Winning is really fun.

That's why we're gonna celebrate victory Monday all week long. Hair on JAG's Am, because Jags finally break their four game losing street. They gonna win over the Panthers, and they do it in the best way possible by playing clean football and not making mistakes. Our first big thing today, it's gonna be it was always the Titans, So we had this game circled on the calendar. It came down to the Titans game, the final game of the regular season last year.

It's gonna be the same situation this year.

And Josh Allen told us why it's always a little bit special when it's best arrival.

Again.

You know that goes down to the ribery game. You just say they're not playing for anything, and they they're playing for a lot, playing for pride, they playing for themselves, they playing for check, they're playing for everything. So for us, why do you know how robbery games go. You know, you can be the best team, you can be the worst team. But ribery games, the MG's gonna be high. And so we have to we have to come prepared to play. No lacks of Baisic cool movement, No, no

And we can do that.

You know, I can see the same outcome as this.

Brian.

The Titans aren't playing for anything on paper, but sometimes playing for pride is the most important thing. So I can't imagine this is going to be an easy matchup.

No it won't.

And we just need to go back and look at last January when they rolled down here and they had Josh Dobbs. They didn't have Andrea, DeAndre Hopkins, Derrick Henry, and Ryan Tannehill all on the field, right, I mean it was pretty much Derick Henry and Josh Dobbs and they darn near beat the Jaguars and knocked him off.

This isn't as good a team, but.

Mike Grabel's a really good coach and he'll have them ready to go, locked and loaded to play. And John, you know, look, this is probably Derick Henry's final game as a Tennessee Titan, which means that the video board is going to be loaded with highlights of what he's done to torture the Jaguars through the years. Probably that long ninety nine yard touchdown run will be over and

He could get that done.

So my guess is you're going to get the best they've got, and Henry is still pretty good.

Yeah, I feel like all forty one of coming against the Jaguars. Look, it's not the same team that came in here last year. They're not as good. They're more similar to the Carolina team last week in the sense that they are struggling right now towards the end of the season. Tell the people up there they think the motivation for the Titans is not as much being the

Yeah, let me highlight that real quick, because you talk about getting a lead, John, If the Jaguars get a lead, then they won't be able to give the ball to Henry, and the numbers on that a very start. When he carries the ball seventeen times or fewer this year, Kay, he only averages thirty seven yards per game, but when it's eighteen or more, it's one hundred and fourteen. So their best hope of beating the Jaguars is Derick Henry

Also, Okay, the Jaguars haven't won this year, you Trannel at halftime, So get a lead.

Lead, always helps and it helps out the defense as well. That's our second big thing, which is defense helping.

Out the offense.

The offense was very good last week and not turning the ball over and playing smart football. Could have done a little bit better in the red zone, but we're working on that. The defense, though, also played well and helped out the offense.

When a defense is playing like that, it takes so much pressure off the offense and off a quarterback to feel like you have to press and do this and do that. So, you know, we you know, obviously we'd like to be better on the red zone, but one of your defense is playing like that, it's not the worst thaing to skicking field goals, taking care of the football. We kind of knew all week we wanted to protect the ball and just you know, move the ball and

John, when you lost so many games and are trying to get your momentum back. I think even if it's field goals, getting points on the board, and then playing solid defense. That's the complimentary football that they haven't been doing the past month, and that was what was able to get them an early lead and then a little bit of confidence.

Yeah, I thought it was key. You know, Brandon McManus had struggled coming into the game. They were longer field goals that he missed in that four game stretch. I think he missed four out of five, and I think three of them were from fifty plus and wins, So it's not like he's a horrible kicker.

They just hadn't been going through.

They were getting closer the other day, but yeah, getting that scoreboard advantage. Doug Peterson does a nice job within close games of playing to the score, of getting up by a touchdown, of getting up by a couple of touchdowns, and then being able to sort of dictate play after that.

Know, Press Taylor talked about last week before the game against the Panthers about how they had a game plan ready to go and then the circumstances of the game got away from them.

And that's what you're talking about.

Their field goals and how you tend to play get away from you. Just one more point on the Jaguars building a lead, and that is is it unleashed the pass rush. Last week you saw six sacks, which totally took away any sort of rhythm from the young quarterback for Carolina. And you happen to be going against a Titans offensive line that allowed six sacks last week. So making the kicks, getting the first down, putting points on the board allows you to really play to the strength

Part of it.

Our final big thing is staying dialed in because of that losing streak for the Jaguars, it's been pretty much must win since last week.

It'll be must win.

This week, and then of course the playoffs if they get there.

So staying dialed in is going to be key going forward.

Coming down to week eighteen. I mean, that's just I think our guys really thrive on these situations. And that's okay, you know, it's it's it's a great opportunity for our for our organization, for our franchise, for players, for our owner, you know, to be in this situation, and you know, we got to go. We gotta go play another good football team on the road, and well, we'll enjoy this one obviously, and prepare, you know, prepare this this week whenever we play.

Brian.

I'm sure many of us would have appreciated if they locked up a playoff spot a little bit earlier in the year. But they really do play their best football when their backs against a wall.

Well, I hope so, because they haven't played their best football this year in big games. Kai I circled five dates when the schedule came out in the spring, Kansas City, Buffalo, San Francisco, Cincinnati, and the Ravens, and they only won one of those games, right, And we heard after the Chiefs loss that it was the worst week of practice that they had all season long.

Well, flip it now. We heard that last week was.

The best week of practice, so hopefully they're in that mindset. It doesn't get any bigger than this win and you're in lose and you probably go home because of the way that the scenarios play out. And I know we're going to talk about that later, but if this team has been lacking anything this year, it's been that situational awareness of a big game and when you've got to play your best and you can't have any excuses injuries or otherwise.

Yeah, I think it remains to be seen if they play their best with their bast games to all this year, because to me, Sunday is the biggest example of that. Beating Carolina was very impressive at home. You got to go on the road in a place where until last year he hadn't played very well.

The whole thing.

Yeah, look, if you're not ready, if you're not dialed in for this one, go do something else.

Just go do something else.

John said it say with us here on JACKXAM, do not go do something else. I'm gonna talk about the playoff scenarios coming up here on DIXAM presented by Jet Homewooks, Jack exam is brought to you by Field's Auto hoop Jackson Bill. You can step up to luxury at Fieldsauto dot com. We also want to take a moment to thank jea's frontline teams for their critical services they provide

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There was seven to one we counts on the field, and I feel like he just bringing that veteran president. He just been here, he'd been through everything with the Jaguars, and he understand what it was like when they were winning no games and now he knows what it is to.

Feel like success.

And he just has the aura about him and I feel like it just kind of feeds off into the other guys. And that's just he just means so much to the officer line, to the team, to all of us. And I feel like when he's out, it's just kind of definitely notice.

It's good to happen that It's just it's just, uh, he's just.

A difference maker for us. He's an energy as energy as pantagious in that room.

Man, we ran the ball really well today, so having him back was.

A plus for us.

So I know he's probably just starting to get back in his groove too. So you know, he came out healthy today and.

You know we're gonna keep moving forward with him for sure. He just pulled my helmet off, so I'll pulled hisself. That's yeah, good, that's the last one I normally do.

Cam being Cam, he always gets the last laugh.

I know he doesn't love that narrative of that, the team being seven and one when he plays, but everybody else does and they all love him when he's out there, and they play a little bit different too, and uh nice to see a little bit a little bit of Cam's energy at the end of the game too, when things are in hand as well.

Yeah, it's not that they win seven and one because Cam Robinson's I mean, but they are a different team. They run better, and frankly, he's the alpha on the offense.

You know.

We had this conversation with Nate Hackett back in twenty seventeen where he identified Cam Robinson, who was a rookie, as being one of the two or three guys on the offense that they could count on to bring it, you know, top competitor at all times.

And that was a good running team that year. Yeah, so he does matter in the run yet.

Yeah, And you know when you talk about those guys, and it's hard unless you're in that locker room and you get to know them a little bit personally. You know, the guys to whom football matters, right, and so some guys it's good, it's important, but it's not like everything, and not every guy in every locker room is ever going to be that way. But Cam is one of the guys in that locker room. Man, it really freaking matters to him. And I've changed my tune, you know.

Yeah. Do you want to go into big games without him?

Hell no?

So that's yeah.

I don't want to see that locker room without him either, because when we talk about hating to lose more than you like to win.

Cam is one of those people to me, and I.

Love the standoff on the field. I loved it.

That was their best player, Derrick Brown and the Jaguars' best offensive lineman and one of their best players, and he just wouldn't let go. And the way he tossed a home and casually, I just I loved it. I mean, it's not the best in sportsmanship, and at least he didn't it didn't hit somebody because maybe they would have given him more than they're gonna give him.

But I loved it.

Because it's set the tone ky that I think has been lacking from this team. That was a big game in the sense that they had to win it, and I thought.

That that was the best sign that I've seen from this team in more than a month.

I know had coach Doug Peterson liked it.

Beca in the media session the other day, someone asking about him, he was just ear to ear green talking about it a.

Little bit about playoffs.

So obviously, the easiest route for this team is going to be win and in they can lose, and then there's a little backdoor situation of they can back into the playoffs with some other things going their way, but then you're a lower seed.

Obviously nobody wants that.

And then the way this team's been playing, if they lose and then get in, I don't know what the success rate is really going to be there, because you're also probably gonna be taking on Baltimore or Miami.

Well, so you know, right out of the gate, you will know, I should say on Saturday night, because in order for the Jaguars to lose on Sunday and still make the playoffs, they need the Ravens to beat the Steelers on Saturday. And they've already said in Baltimore that Lamar Jackson's not gonna play, which means there will be a number of guys who are probably beat up and banged up on both sides of the ball that won't play either, and the Steelers are gonna come hard charging

Do one Sunday.

Yeah, look, this is winner in and realistically it takes a miracle to get in if you don't.

So if they don't win, they don't deserve to be in.

So there's also a scenario in there if the Steelers lose, which could happen.

They're inconsistent.

It's not a guarantee that a resting Baltimore team couldn't win that game. Then you need Denver to either lose or tie. And clear that up, that's because Denver can't make the playoffs, but they can get into a potential tie with Jacksonville and.

Pittsburgh. And once you get into a three.

Way tie, then all of a sudden, the head to head that the Jaguars have over Pittsburgh it's thrown out and it comes down to that three way deal. So it's complex, trust me that that's what it is, even if they explain it right. But the long and short is they're depending on Pittsburgh to lose, I mean, and that realistically is not something you can depend on going into this game. So well is the old playoff game? Yeah, and that isn't the only one.

You also need the Raiders to beat the Broncos, and you'd say, well, the Raiders that Antonio Pierce has had on the field at various times will clearly be.

They've also been up and down.

Yeah, up and down.

So you need two things to happen. Right, If it was just one your percentages higher, but two your percentage drops. Look, they're a better team than the Titans. They should be at the Titans. Go do it and eliminate all of the consternation about it. And the good news is is that at least on Saturday night they'll know one way or the other if there's an opportunity for.

And the same matchup that enabled the Jaguars to completely control the Titans here is still there for the table. It's offensive line of the Titans, which is not the offensive line that it's been the last you know, before last year against What I still feel is the Jaguars.

Strength, which their defensive front.

They ought to be able to get sacks, they ought to be able to make those days of mistakes. To me, again, the key goes back to don't have weirdness early that gives them a lead that surprises them and energizing. And if you don't do that, if you play the way you did out here on Sunday, which is three nothing maybe three three tens, get up. If you get up on this team, I think they would be ready to leave.

Remember that they were up twenty seven nothing on them at the end of the third quarter. It wasn't till a fourth quarter that they made it a closer game. And so the reality of it is is that they did the same thing to the Panthers that they did for three quarters against the Titans. They should be able to match up and win and eliminate any of the worry about the playoffs.

The only reason that Titans kind of looked like they were worth anything was Levis kind of threw a couple of big, deep balls and he left the last game with an injury. So we don't know if we'll see Tannehill, we'll see Levis.

So he's surprising if Levis plays, considering out of the two, he's the future guy.

I don't know that they would. Again, I have no insight on this.

I don't know they if you put him out there in an injury risk situation and risk him having to rehab in the offseason, I doubt they do that well.

The one thing though, that leans in the direction of levis Is is that the head coach, Mike Brabil said last week before he got injured that every rep the rest of the way was so valuable to him, and then said yesterday in his news conference that he anticipated that he was feeling better and had a chance to practice this week. So I get the sense listening to Mike Brabel's news conference he very much wants him to play. We should point out this is probably, No, it is

Couple of division titles.

So you know, the intangible that you do fight against is his final game, Derek Henry's final game. And Brabel going at it with a reporter yesterday in his news conference talking about how much right he used a specific adjective that I will not how much it sucked to lose.

That man hates losing.

Yeah. I like him a lot.

I think he's a really good coach, and I hope he goes to New England, and don't I.

Wish he would coach somewhere else? Yeah, exactly, all right, stay with us here on Jagson. We're going to come back to a little this or that as we look ahead to what's going to go down in the last week of the regular season. For ten years, Dreamfinders Homes has been proud to call himselves the official home builder of the Jacksonville Jaguars. You can visit Dreamfinders' Homes dot

It is free. You can check out price dot com. Today.

He played smart, he played tough, came back in after being checked. You know, he ran the offense, and you know, credit the offensive line, you know, especially in the second half of of really kind of taking over and and helping out in the run game. And you know, and then the thing too sometimes is when you know, when you when your starter's out, your backups in, I think the focus, the attention is a little bit, you know,

This school that.

This school that look into this or that here on jag ZAMC. J. Bethard playing in place of Trevor Lawrence and missed his first career start, and Bethard managed the game well, it didn't turn the ball over, played smart football allowed you know, getting points in the red zones by field goals most of the time. And Travis Dpn had a good day as well, so that certainly helped. And then the defense went off and that's it's always helpful.

I don't rest anybody that can play, and you feel like you help them because.

Yes, they should win.

And I firmly believe that contending teams in this situation usually beat non contending teams because of the urgency factor.

But that's no guarantee in this league.

We saw a couple of years back when the Jaguars beat the Colts to knock the Colts out, So it can happen. You know, I think if they're one hundred percent or one hundred percent, but if they're in a percent where they can help you.

You play them, and I don't think it's any question.

But I do think there's a question of the quarterback position because that shoulder situation, to me, is a percentage game, if that makes sense.

We don't know where it's gonna be. I doubt it's gonna be one hundred.

And then they have to determine is eighty five is eighty eight enough to have him.

Him on the field, or do they play well with CJ. I'm not downplaying the decision they have to make.

No, it's a big decision.

Look, I think one of the reasons why they held Zay Jones out last week is because they thought they could win without him and try to get him healthier, get his percentage higher.

So that he could go this week.

And we learned earlier today that Christian Kirk's twenty one day practice window would be opened today, and that's a strong sign that he will be able to go this week. They've done it a few times this year Kai and the only player who didn't make it to Sunday was Christian Braswall at the rookie cornerback. So the sense is

They just don't score a lot of points in Tennessee this year.

We talked a little bit about this last week, but if Trevor is able to go but he doesn't practice again, is that something we want to see? No?

Well, yeah, I mean I think they.

I would think Doug gained confidence that they could do what Brian's talking about with CJ.

Bethard last week.

So you have a formula that you're comfortable with, the players are comfortable with. Okay, Well, if Trevor gets out there on Wednesday, fine, If he's not out there by Thursday, then I think you have to look back and say, well, look, we are comfortable with this. We settled things down. It felt like the mind was right. Whatever all it is, all the chaos of the last four weeks sort of calmed. So I no, if he doesn't practice, they certainly will not feel the need to throw him out there unprepared.

So I think the.

Next I don't know if today is important, it's tomorrow, because I think if he would get a full day tomorrow than he would play. But I think the next two days obviously tell a lot in the story.

The last two times he's played without practicing, he's thrown six interceptions, right, I mean, he has not played well, So we have a body of work there now. I do think that if Christian kirkinz A Jones are out there, well, maybe you feel a little more comfortab because you didn't have either, you know, in either of those games against the Buccaneers. You didn't have both of them in either

Yeah.

The factor, obviously is in those four games they were playing hot teams that were playing well. They're not playing hot teams they're playing with right now. So that is in the trigonomety Yer talks about. And you know, CJ did a great job last week, really only one play downfield. If you feel like you need strike plays, if you feel like you need to go after it a little bit, I'm saying CJ can't do that. But that's where let's

I don't know that there's an actual CJ. Bethord train, but I get where you're going with that. Oh, there's a turn there, there's always a turn. He is capable of playing well and he showed that last week, but he's not a frontline starter. I think he's three to ten in thirteen career starts. You have to know what you've got there, and last week Doug Peterson and Press Taylor put a game plan together and he executed that game plan. So it's a matter of Doug and Press

We talked a little bit about this for our other this or that already, but Christian Kirk's window is available as a Jones has been practicing, but he has not been back on the field in a game because as we've seen throughout the season, he's you know, practice, gone back, come back onto the injury list. It's been an ongoing situation with him, and from the inclinations we get it's going to be an injury he deals with until he's in the offseason. So which one do we think we'll

I think both of them are coming back.

Certainly, the way Doug talked on Monday, he was couching it a little bit, but it certainly sounded like he thought both of them were going to play.

And there is that, to me, plays a little bit into the Trevor decision. You would like. The big picture here is still that this is a.

Team that was eight and three at one point, within the top seed, and the AFC big picture is not unwinnable for this team. They were down ten to seven against the best team in football three weeks ago, should have probably been up nineteen to ten. So let's not forget that this team's goal is still the super Bowl. If you thinks, is Doug that you can get Christian's Day and Trevor on the same page this week and get hot going in. That plays into the decision a

It is good TV.

I think maybe the question actually is, now that we know that Christian Kirk is going to practice this.

Week, is who has a bigger impact?

Right?

And that's a hard one to say because Christian, clearly his absence, has creative issues in the offense. But Day's that guy that the quarterback trusts so intently and has made big plays at key times. So I don't know that one.

Other Yeah, I'll go Christian all the way on that one. And I love Zay as a player, he matters a great deal. But that innate trust that he has with Christian Kirk. To Trevor Lawrence, if if you put him on the line detector test and asked who his go to guy is, if he didn't say Christian, you'd have a tough time passing.

Yeah, you're right, Well, I was just holding for one. If you guys think both of them are coming back, that's gonn great.

You'll get that sense well, and remember not to keep going on and on. Doug's talked so much in the last few weeks about the need to get guys going. When he talked about Tyson Campbell, Andre Cisco a little bit, they would love the more I think about it, to get those three going and get some moment I'm going into the postseason. If your goal is to be in Las Vegas, getting those guys on the same page could matter a great deal.

This week, Sure, cook, stay with us here on jag Exam.

We'll preview what we've got going on the rest of the week the final week of the regular season. DAGs fans, if you want customized Jaguars furniture for your home, check out zipchare dot com to browse all customizable options. Zipchair is furniture for fans.

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Take a moment to honor our Florida Lottery high School Scholar Athlete of the Month, Ashley Purdy. Ashley is has proven academic excellence, dedication in the community, and demonstrated leadership on and off the field. The Great Future Scholarship Program is primarily funded by the Florida Lottery and it assists students in pursuing post secondary, educational and career goals.

A lot of work was put in.

You know, there were you know, there were people, there were people out there calling me a bus and had all the words in the world for me and my career, and just just a lot of credit to God his will for me, the resiliency that I showed in my work and in my craft, and the people around me that helped pick me up every single day. I'm helping me get better my teammates, my coaches, my trainers, my family, my fiance, I mean.

The list goes on. It means the world to me.

I do not take it lightly, and honestly, I feel like I'm gonna be here for a while.

A lot of personal milestones in this game, obviously Josh breaking the single season sack record for the franchise and Evan Ingram going over a hundred receptions only the eighth tight end ever do that. The Evan Ingram redemption arc is a great one. I really enjoy it. I'm so happy for him. He deserves it and obviously Josh deserves it as well. Loved his Klais Campbell celebration that was wonderful on his sack and the Traymon got his first two seg game.

Right is that is so, and I believe that that those two lead the NFL as a tandem, right with twenty five and a half sacks. And you know, we've been saying it and people are going, oh, you're crazy, But Traylon's been coming for weeks.

He's been coming.

He's a really good football player, and all of a sudden he's starting to figure out how to finish on some of these sacks. So he has one half sack behind the great Aiden Hutchinson, right, who the Jaguars didn't take. But they've got a guy that they're thrilled. Peter King wrote in his Quarterback or in his Monday Morning Quarterback column whatever he calls it now Monday Morning Football in America column, he wrote that the Lions had to be

He's been good all year. He had nine sacks, and now that he has stats, people realize he's good. Yep, stats, I guess.

That's what it takes. The eye test doesn't do enough.

Apparently, Well we'll take it. Got them a win, certainly against the Panthers, and we're hoping for the same thing in the final week of the season against the Titans. We'll preview that match up for you fully tomorrow on jags am and we'll see then