Woo, we finally got the game time, man. We're going to preview an actual game, preseason game one. I'm going to tell you five things you hope to see and five things you hope you don't. We'll do it in just a second here on Locked on Jaguar. You are Locked On Jaguars, your daily Jacksonville Jaguars podcast.
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How about that? All right, so here's what we're going to do. By the time we get to segment three, we're going to start talking about make it or break it. That's guys making or breaking their opportunity, not breaking bones or anything like that.
Guys who are going to have a chance to really, really make their opportunity be known. Not necessarily all in one game, but you only get three. and you're going to be splitting time with a whole bunch of people, at least for the first couple of games, you need to make sure every opportunity is one that you take full advantage of.
And I'm going to tell you who has to do that more than other people. I'm going to tell you five things in segment two that you don't need to see. I'm telling you, don't do it.
Don't even look. You know what I'm saying? You ever had somebody tell you, you don't want to go over there. You don't need to see that. All right.
So I'm going to tell you some stuff that we don't want to see. It's not even going to be in your control because it's... I know you're going to watch, but we hope these things don't happen because even though it's preseason, you know what's going to happen, man.
It's going to take on a life of its own and we're going to have to sit here and talk about all of this negative stuff. And we don't want to do that. Right. But we're going to start right here. We're going to start with the five things we hope to see in game one.
It's pretty much no brainers. All right. It's easy, but we're going to talk about it anyway.
The other thing is you can probably figure out what's in segment two, but whatever I say here. Just you don't want to see the opposite. But I did make it a little bit more nuanced than that. So let's start talking about it right now.
I hope the Jaguars win the coin toss and get the ball. And I hope Trevor Lawrence comes out and leads the team to a touchdown in the first quarter. And then they go sit him down.
That is the first thing that I hope we see. I want some of the questions to go away so we can actually analyze football instead of. always just trying to rebuff somebody's opinion of the team and get defensive because, you know, we can get real defensive as Jaguar fans. We almost have to because people make us do that, right? That's number one.
So that's a no-brainer. They come out and get the ball. Trevor goes bip, bip, bip. They go down the field, a little mix it up with run pass, and I want him to throw a touchdown, and then I want him to take his helmet off and swing his hair and put on a baseball cap, take his shoulder pads off, and stand over there and help press Taylor.
coach the rest of the game. The second thing I want to see, I want to see Travis Etienne in and out. I want to see him darting in and out of the line.
I want him to bounce outside, don't take hits, run out of bounds. And then I want Travis Etienne to go right over there with Trevor Lawrence after they scored that first touchdown on that first drive and sit down somewhere. That's exactly what I want. I don't want to take no risks on no injuries. I don't want nobody limping off.
I don't want nobody hurting a foot. I don't want any of that stuff taking extra hits that you don't. necessarily need to be taken.
Number three, defense. I want them to tackle well in space. By the way, I think I mentioned they played the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
If I didn't, that's what I'm talking about here. This is their first preseason game. I want the defense to tackle well in space. Over the last couple of years, now they started off the 2023 season tackling okay.
They were actually tackling making people fumble the ball. But then after they started getting worn out because the offense didn't sustain drives enough, and I think they lost the time and possession game to just about every team that they played in those games that they started to lose. I really want them to tackle well because I haven't seen them really, really tackle consistently well all season in a long, long time, since 2017. In order to be special, you have to be a team that tackles well.
All you got to do is go back to the last week of the season, look at the Tennessee Titans game, and look how those dudes were just running all over the place. And it felt like the Jaguars were tackling each other. The Tajay Spears, I cannot forget the Tajay Spears touchdown, where it looked like all of these dudes had this guy bottled up, and he just got away. They didn't tackle Derrick He. I don't even think they tried to tackle Derrick.
But it was a microcosm of what the Jaguars can do when things go bad and things start getting poorly. I don't want to see that no more. I know that's not real good English, but that's how I feel.
And I think that's how a lot of the fans feel. I don't want to see that anymore. So that's one thing I don't want to see at all. The O-line, number four, you knew I was going to get to them.
I want them to look above average. I want them to look above average. I don't want them to get bullied and pushed around like I saw at least one guy getting bullied and pushed around all last year. I'm not going to mention his name because I ain't going to keep bringing his name up and trying to be negative about it.
But... Mitch Morse is now the starter. I want to see Mitch Morse not get pushed around. Now, because there is no Anton Harrison being held out, he's out of concussion protocol, but it's just they're making sure.
Because there's no Ezra Cleveland, the Jaguars, as I said on yesterday's podcast, are now back in a very, very familiar situation. That familiar situation is they're playing who is that out there on the offensive line again. Yeah. Have you ever played a game called who was that?
We do it all the time with the Jaguars offensive line because you never know who's in the game. And especially once the game gets going and somebody limps off, you got to start looking down at everything to try to figure out who was that, you know? So I don't want that to happen.
Even though it's going to be like that a little bit because they're holding guys out, I still want them to at least come out and look competent. If they have a first drive where they go down and get a touchdown. I might take Cam Robinson out too, and Mitch Morse.
I might just put reserves in after that. So everything for me is predicated on them getting a fast start. And the fast starts is something that they didn't do a lot of or do enough of over the last couple of years or last few years.
I want them to, hey, this is like considered a practice game. Well, you know what? Repetition is good for you. So start practicing now how to get off the quick starts, and maybe it'll be contagious and you'll continue that.
throughout the season. Finally, the last of the five things I want to see tomorrow from this team, I want to see the kicker making those field goals. That's right.
I want to see the little rookie out of Arkansas, my man Cam Little. I called him Little, and his name is Little. All right.
I want to see the little buddy out of Arkansas go out there and make field goals. I want him to hit one from 50. I want him to hit all the extra points. I want the ball to fire off his foot, and I want to say they got him a kicker, right? Just like Harrison Bucker, just like when we had Josh Scobie, just like my man Bucker up in Bucker's the truth, though. But still, I want them to just have the same kicker for the next six, seven years.
And I want him to be a staple. And I want it to be damn near automatic when he comes onto the field to kick field goals. So those are the five things that I'm really looking forward to. I ain't asking much.
It's not a lot, but it's enough that those are the things that I want to look forward to. Now That's the good. Now I got to show you the ugly. Things I don't want to see.
Things I don't want you to see. I don't want you to be influenced. And I don't want your brain to get fried worrying about this team. Oh, it's the same old Jaguars.
That is the last thing I want to hear from y'all. So I'm going to tell you the five things we don't need to see this week. And it's not as simple as just going looking at the five things that I want to see and doing the opposite.
I could say, I don't want Trevor. I don't want to see Trevor not throw a touchdown. I don't want to see ETN in the game too long.
I don't want to see the defense missing tackles. Nah, we ain't going to do that. We thought about, trust me, there's a whole bunch of stuff we don't want to see.
And we're going to get to it in just a second here in segment two of Locked on Jaguar. Today's show is sponsored and brought to you by eBay Motors. Because passion, drive, and patience.
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eBay guaranteed fit only available to U S customers. Segment number two here on locked on Jaguars, where it's your team every day. We always thank you for making us your first listen here on locked on Jaguars. Your second listen.
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Of course it is. All right, we went over the five things we hope to see in game one. We are now going to go over the five things we don't need to see in game one against Kansas City Chiefs this Saturday. You ready? All right, let's get to it.
No injuries. See how simple that is? I don't want...
None of the main characters getting hurt. In fact, I don't want to see anybody on the field writhing in pain and getting hurt. But it's football, so it's bound to happen. But it can't happen to somebody that is going to be, let me see, what's the good number?
35, one of the top 35 guys, somebody that you really, really need on this team to be a big time contributor. No, I don't want anybody in that too deep at any of those skilled positions. I don't want any of those offensive linemen that we anticipate being in that 10-man rotation. I don't want anybody on that defensive line to come up with an injury that's going to keep them out for a prolonged period of time. That is a no-brainer.
All right, number two, I don't want no damn interceptions, especially from number 16. Because I'm going to tell you, if it happens, we're going to talk about it until the... I'm telling you, until pigs fly. Not only are we going to talk about it... But we're going to have to start talking about it because everybody else is going to be talking about it. I do not want to see Trevor Lawrence throw the ball to the other team.
It just cannot happen. He's led the league in turnovers, not necessarily interceptions, since he got into the league. Just think about it now.
Since he's been in the league, he's turned the ball over more than any other player in the NFL. That has to stop. We can't have it. We can't have it. And it's a good place, even though the game doesn't count.
Let's get off to a good start and not do things like that. Of course, if it does happen, it won't be the end of the world. It might feel like it for two or three days because we'll be in podcast purgatory because we'll start that old conversation again. Like you two, $275 million man can't stop throwing the ball to the other team or can't stop dropping the ball on the ground.
I'm telling you, I just don't feel like hearing the mouth of those national people. and all of those folks. The only way that it goes away is if he doesn't give him a chance to do it.
So at least today, I don't want, or tomorrow, I don't want to see Trevor Lawrence throwing any interceptions. Remember the thing last year that bothered us, like in Cleveland, in Tennessee, against Houston here in Jacksonville? Remember those plays where it's like nobody was around somebody and they were catching the ball.
It was like they were feeling the punt and then they were walking into the end zone. Those busted plays where dudes were sitting there pointing at each other because they didn't know whose job it was. Or, you know, Devin Lloyd doesn't follow in Joku.
He lets him, he releases him and lets him go because he's doing something else. I don't know what he's doing. He's checking like he's baking cookies or something. But the thing is, is I don't want to see those busted plays.
Folks running wide open down the field. I saw Jamar Chase jogging to the end zone here in Jacksonville. I don't want to see anybody jogging.
I don't want to see anybody already pointing into the stands and doing some weird dance. I don't see nobody doing the gritty because nobody's near him. The big plays and the busted coverages, they have to go. Now, I know it's a new defense.
The way they're playing defense, you ought to be close to them even if they catch the ball. And that's something that Ryan Nielsen talked about, like you're not going to win every rep or you're not going to win every play, but you can win every rep by knowing your assignment, being in position, following your technique, doing all the things you're supposed to do. If a guy makes a play, he makes a play.
I get it. But the way they're playing defense, if you haven't been out to practice, they should be very, very close to these players. What I mean is not emotionally close. I mean physically close. They should be in their wheelhouse, somewhere in their back pocket, even if these guys make plays, because that'll give them an opportunity to be Johnny on the spot when things happen.
Ball gets bobbled, ball gets tipped. You're right there. You can make the tackle. So the tackling that I mentioned.
should go along real well with no big plays being given. You got to hit everything. Nothing can be easy. And that goes with the mantra and the things that Ryan Nielsen has always talked about and discussed.
He doesn't make everything difficult. We don't give up anything easy. This is a good start against a team that has a lot of speed.
And we'll see if they turn Derrick Mahomes loose and they may get to their depth a little bit quicker. But they're always going to run what they're going to run. That's just the way that they are.
You know, they're going to look good in the preseason. They're going to look fluid. They're going to try you, even though it's a little bit vanilla, but still they're going to get some of their stuff in. All right, number four, don't get run all over.
I don't want to see five, six, seven yards a chunk. I don't want to see a 10, 12-minute drive. I remind people that the 49ers ran 19 plays and took 13 minutes and 50 seconds off the clock in a game against the Jaguars a couple of years ago. I do not want to see that.
They got run all over last year in a game that they needed against Tennessee, a team that wasn't even 500, and they kept them out of the playoffs. The narratives would have been totally different, and that might be good or bad because sometimes you need bad things to happen. You got to hit a little bit of a bottom before you realize that you got to get your stuff together.
They could have very well limped into the playoffs last year and then made the mistake of thinking that they're better than that. They're good. been to the playoffs two years in a row.
We don't need to make drastic changes. Sometimes those bad losses at the end of the year, sometimes they happen because it shakes you up and it almost gets people fired. You don't get fired when you make the playoffs two years in a row.
The Jaguars didn't get fired, but I think they had a wake-up call and that allowed them to draft and to do some better things in free agency and realize that it's always a situation where you're desperate. You have to make sure. You get it together. Finally, the last thing that's for, something else that plagued the Jaguars last year, and part of the solution to that is, the dude that was the biggest culprit is now in Nashville.
Those are drops. We've talked about the numbers at wide receiver. We have discussed ad nauseum the competition at wide receiver, the commitment to getting bigger. stronger bodies at wide receivers, guys that can play through traffic like Gabe Davis, guys with a big catch radius like Brown Thomas Jr., we call him BTJ, a healthy Christian Kirk who looks a little more buff than he used to be. They got numbers.
The Jaguars have a lot of receivers on their depth chart. And I'm not just talking about the starters. They have a lot of receivers on their depth chart that are 6'2 or bigger.
Devin Duvernay is a 5'11", but he's built like a running back with this big, powerful body. And Walker Washington has looked lights out. I don't want to see drops. You got to help your quarterbacks. Help your quarterbacks. No drop passes. All right, so the five things I said no to. Injuries. Can't control that. Interceptions. You can control those. No big plays given by secondary. No busted coverages. No guys looking around like, whose man was that? I don't know, but he just scored a touchdown. uh don't get run all over no 10 play 10 12 play drives where they're just gashing you up the middle can't get run all over i don't want to see that and finally drops so basically i don't want to see a whole bunch of stuff they did last year i want to see some improvement from this team and i think if those things happen we'll have something good to talk about on our postcast on saturday night that i will definitely be doing within an hour and a half maybe uh you maybe about an hour and a half after the game. We'll actually do it live. You know me, man. I don't need a whole bunch of editing. We'll do a postcast live, two-segment, 15-minute segments. We'll do it after the game on Saturday to get you caught up immediately and get an immediate response out of me. All right, so make it or break it. Guys, it won't come down to one game, but they only get three preseason games. And everything at this point for these guys matters. I'm going to go through this depth chart that I scribbled all over, right? It's not really a depth chart. It's just a roster. And I want to look at the depth chart too, because I see I still have the depth chart. That is the unofficial depth chart of the Jaguars. I'm going to look at it and I'm going to tell you, guys that have a really, really good chance to make it and guys who could actually really hurt their chances if they don't play well. We'll get to all of that third and final segment here on Locked on Jaguars. Today's show is brought to you and sponsored by LinkedIn, LinkedIn Talent Solutions. Now. If you're hiring for your small business like I have been on multiple occasions, you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs has the tools to help you find the right pros. It's not just the job board, man. LinkedIn hires professionals you can't find anywhere else. 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Visit betterhelp.com slash locked on today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash locked on to get 10% off your first month. All right, third and final segment here on Locked On Jaguars, where it is your team every day. We always thank you for making us your first listen. We talked about five things we hope to see in game one, five things we don't need to see in game two. Now I'm going to tell you the guys that you hope do the positive things and you hope they don't do the negative things. Look, I'm rooting for all of them. I love the competition. When Deshaun Dixon was announced out for the year with an ACL, You know, I know a lot of guys that have played football, and I know a lot of guys that have scraped and scratched to stay on rosters. I know dudes that were just trying to get to their qualifications, their game qualifications, to make sure they were pensioned. And they qualified for a pension in the NFL. And I know some dudes that got real close and didn't make it. So I'm always looking at these guys who are fighting for their roster spots and fighting for their football lives. I don't want them to have setbacks, especially ones that they can't control. I want them to have setbacks. I feel like everybody should have the opportunity to go out and compete and be available for the team. That being said, I'm going to go through these positions and tell you some people that I hope don't play poorly. Let's start at quarterback. I want Matt Jones to have a good showing. He's going to be the third quarterback out for this game. Both Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Betterhelp will go before Matt. Kind of led to believe that that doesn't mean a whole bunch right now at this point. And they may switch it up at some other point. That's what I want to see. I want to see Mac Jones have a good showing so that some of the questions about his arm strength can kind of go away a little bit. Tank Bixby. I want Tank Bixby. I think Tank Bixby has a chance to really gain some confidence in a real game. Had a rocky start last year, and the reason why is because I think he was just trying too hard and he was a little anxious. Maybe if Tank Bixby can get off to a better start in preseason and show his value. I think it'll be good for him, and I think it'll be good for the Jacksonville Jaguars because he gives them a little bit more size and can pound on you while Dearness Johnny and Travis Etienne, you know, they put the stanky leg on people and go around them. I think you have to be able to wear people out, and I think Tank gives the Jaguars a super chance to do that. Tim Jones. Tim Jones might be fighting for his life as the number six receiver if they don't keep seven. He seems to be, depth chart-wise, the dude that's kind of lagging behind. those other guys like elijah cooks elijah cooks can have a good game and solidify himself as possibly the sixth receiver on this team i like elijah cooks a lot man he's only second year played 6-4-2-15 there's a lot of blue sky upside and you know you always like keeping guys like that in your room um brenton strange second year tight end yeah he needs to make a move because you're a second round pick you're already not starting in a two tight end package I want to see him do something really, really positive and get out there. And he can really, I don't think he's in danger of getting cut at all because I don't think they do that for a number of reasons. But I do think that it would be nice of him to have a really, really good showing. I'll tell you what, if he has a bad showing, you might see them re-sign Luke Terrell to an extension. And he ain't going to get a whole bunch of money. They might go to him and say, man, we're going to keep you around. We'll give you some guaranteed money. Go ahead and sign that thing right now before the season gets started because Terrell's going to be a free agent at the end of this season. We've talked about the offensive line. I would like to see Cooper Hodges play well. I'd like to see Walker Little play well. It could go a long way of making the Jaguars comfortable with what those guys have to offer so they know that they can depend on them because you're always going to have, especially if you're a Jacksonville Jaguar, you're always going to have a situation where the offensive line may need a little bit of rotation going on because the Jaguars, we just talked about it, they never, ever seem to play the same unit. George Jefferson won't play. Mason Smith should probably get a big dose because they're going to probably pull the starters. And I would love to see Mason Smith, the second round pick, get out there and play a lot of football and get a lot of that confidence so you all can see the vast potential that he has. uh, as an NFL player. I think he is going to be fabulous as long as he can stay healthy. And then miles cold miles cold is a guy that I think now has a shot with Deshaun Dixon being out. I would love to see that seventh round pick step up and make good plays on this team. I want y'all to see Chase moment. And I want y'all to see Ventrell Miller. I really do. I've seen him in practice. Let's see if they can take what happens in practice. Trans old translate over to a game. I'll tell you what. Moom was listed as the starter or Devin Lloyd. Devin Lloyd in the past had been the flat-out starter. These coaches have said that stuff doesn't mean anything. Devin Lloyd has to show a little bit of something tomorrow, instinctively be Johnny on the spot. He was a first-round pick, and people expect him to make plays and really, really play well. Monteric Brown. Bucker Brown, I think he's got a lot of work to do to try to make this ball club. I want to see what he brings to the table, along with guys like Adrian Amos, Terrell Edmonds, as well as Flowers. I want to see what these guys bring, Trevor Flowers. I want to see what they bring to the table. What is going to make this team decide that they need to keep those veterans on this team? Basically, what I'm telling you is I don't want people to make the team because of injury or by default. I want to see guys actually go out and make this team. And then I'll have my eye on those guys that, you know, you hate to see it, but this is a big job interview. And you're doing it in front of everybody because that's where the job is played. It's played in front of everybody. So I would hate to see guys get an opportunity to make a play and they don't make it because those opportunities are dwindling as the days of camp go by. I want to make a play with you, man, and be here every single day for you here on Locked On Jaguars, because that's what I do. We thank you for making us your first listener today. Now go listen to the Locked On Fantasy Football Podcast. Get daily insight to the best fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. I got me a ring two years ago, right? You can find the link to Locked On Fantasy Football in the description so you don't need to search. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. I'll see you within an hour and a half after the game for a postcast on Saturday. Travel safely to the game. Stay dry. Good luck. Enjoy. the 2024 Jaguars preseason opener against the Super Bowl champion, Kansas City Chiefs. And hopefully all of the things that we talked about on here that we want to happen will and the things that we don't won't. But I'll be back here Saturday night after the game for a postcast edition of the show. Until then, you guys take care. We'll see.