And the Ward Goes to…An AFC South Preview

30:21But on the outside, um, we have Samson, Ebicom coming back. Lao to lot to your two quiddy pay. They drafted JT to a model. I think I'm saying this rain night at Ohio state. What do you think this group of pass rushers? Because, um, you know, last season, I would say they were about average getting after the quarterback. Like, do you think this has the potential to be a strength in this team? I think it could be a strength depending on Leatu Latu's jump from year one to year two. He was my number one pass rusher coming out of the draft that year, just above Jared Verse. But one of the things that Latu I thought struggled with last year was just his overall power and strength.

31:07I love what I saw from his get off, from his ability to win with hands and kind of clear the tackle's length and things like that. But I think he needed to get stronger with his kind of first full offseason in the NFL. And I think if he did, there was a big opportunity for him to take a year one to year two jump. Koury Pé, I like him a lot. I think he's entering a contract year. He'll be motivated to perform. I just haven't seen the twitch and the power and the explosiveness that I saw coming out of Michigan. And I do like JT Tuamalu. I'm a big fan of him. I thought in the second round, that's a good value.

31:47I think he kind of got overshadowed in an extremely talented Buckeye defense. I think he is a player that Chris Ballard certainly is going to value, both from a run defending standpoint, but also from getting after the quarterback standpoint. So I do think this edge rushing group has potential, but the only player that I feel really strong about maybe being from, they can leave from a solid to like a really plus plus starter is law to you and that again that is you know that is kind of up in the air we need to see them jump yeah i mentioned this when they um hired lou but all right no i actually i was talking to greg rosenthal about la to being like kind of the most important player on the team quietly literally he reminded me a little bit of trey hendrickson who is obviously a player that lou knows very well coming out of the draft.

32:43Now that's a lofty comp because we know what Trey Hendrickson has become. And I'm not saying he's going to be him or even that he has to be him for this defense to be good. But I feel like, to your point, he is absolutely the guy that I'm looking at. If he can step up and become a double-digit sacks guy, I feel pretty comfortable with the additions that they've made on the back end that this could be a certainly above-average defense. Yeah, because what that would do is, I mean, If Latu is becoming that presence on the edge, that's going to leave more one-on-ones for DeForest Buckner, who people can't block one-on-one as a three tackle.

33:18That's impossible. So I think if they can free up and get some actual four-down pressure, not blitzing, just with their four-defence alignment, that will go a long way in helping this defense. buckner i i mentioned this when zach allen got his deal signed was second in pass rush win last year behind chris jones people were surprised by that they're like divorce buckner that dude he's still so good he's just i feel like he has been good every single season he's played in the nfl there's like there's certain players like that who we just like kind of stop thinking about them maybe because they're not on like superstar teams or playoffs or whatever or they're just kind of quieter profiles but like him and Grover Stewart to me who's like a movable they're just like the most reliable duo inside in the league so yeah all you need is like you're gonna have one-on-ones you're gonna have opportunities to get after the quarterback just can one of these guys the Colts have like the before Latu you mentioned Pei you remember Odi Inbo they've really they drafted so many athletes Latu's a little bit more of the technician exactly uh different profile but But because, yeah, linebacker, a little bit of question next to Zaire Franklin.

34:34Corner opposite Ward, probably Jalen Jones. They've been banged up back there, which is. They signed Zabian Howard, which is interesting. I don't think he played last year, but, you know, he's still, you know, I think he played with Lou Anarimo. I think they were in Miami together. I mean, so there's some familiarity there. And obviously he has ball skills. I mean, I don't know if he'll be something. I think they released our depth chart. They have him a starter opposite Ward. So we'll see. I mean, I think there's talent on this defense. I saw stat they led the league in missed tackles last year, which is really interesting.

35:05You know, especially when that Gus Bradley cover three, where there's a lot of just kind of allowing passes in front of them and you kind of make the tackle. So I think with Louie and Arimo, I hope some of that gets cleaned up, but yeah, I mean, Louie and Arimo from Gus to Gus from Gus Bradley is a huge upgrade. And I like Gus as a person, but Louie and our remote ability to do multiple things in coverage and do exotic kind of looks like that's going to play really well with this really talented safety duo that I'm a big fan of and Nick cross and can't, I don't like, I think there's a lot of reasons to be optimistic about, I think this is a really talented defense maybe lacking the quote unquote star power, like the Texans, but I think from top down, there's a lot to like.

35:51Yeah, it is. As I mentioned last year, they were kind of like just below average. I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that they jump into the next tier. But again, Latu to me is the guy. All right, let's take a quick break, come back and talk about a team that I think is one of the most interesting teams in the NFL, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hard Knocks is back and so is the official Hard Knocks podcast. This year, the award-winning HBO original Hard Knocks Training Camp heads to Seattle to follow the Super Bowl champion Seahawks. Go behind the scenes with the team as they make another run at a title.

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37:32Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash eisen. Terms and conditions apply. All right, we are back. jacksonville jaguars new head coach new coordinators new hybrid offensive defensive player lot to discuss here i want to start with trevor lawrence though one of the more divisive players in football i feel like got the big contract had a down season injuries also didn't play the entire season. He's been struggling now with injuries for two years since the year that Jacksonville went to the playoffs and had the comeback against LA.

38:17Let's talk about what went wrong last year, because I think that'll help us talk about what can go right and whether it can be fixed. Watching Trevor Lawrence in 2024, a few things jump out to me. Decision-making issue and an issue at times throughout his career um one thing that he really struggled with and this showed up in the stats was making plays outside of structure throwing on the run which is weird because he's exactly yeah but he was 32nd in qbr outside the pocket with a qbr of two he was actually a 14th inside um and it wasn't he wasn't throwing interceptions he wasn't taking a lot of sacks just was not making plays he was much better against zone than man which a lot of that reflects the receivers usually outside of btj uh and he did struggle a bit against the blitz and under pressure.

39:19Yeah. What was your take on his 2024 and where do you think he can slash needs to get better? Yeah. Trevor Lawrence just was not an enjoyable watch last year. I mean, they were also clearly like, screw the season, screw that coach, we're all out. I think the coach obviously lost faith in Trevor Lawrence. And I think that really trickled down to the whole organization. Lawrence has flashes I think his whole career has just been flashes and inconsistency One down he's throwing a remarkable nine ball to BTJ down the field and it's like wow you see the talent that made him one of the highest ranked prospects coming out of NFL draft history and then the next you see him just completely make a crazy mistake on third down because he didn't see the blitz or fail to read the proper coverage.

40:18And so I think with bringing in Liam Cohen, one of the things I hope that it limits is Trevor Lawrence's need or desire to always play hero ball. He needs to understand that there's checks and there's answers in the offense that Liam Cohen's going to give you. One of the things that Liam Cohen does so well at Tampa, and what I'm really excited about this offense. A lot of condensed splits, a lot of motions. That's going to be able to tell Trevor Lawrence pre-snap kind of where to go with the football. He's not going to have to think so much, right? He can play kind of free. You have two excellent receivers in BTJ and Travis Hunter.

41:01Like, play within yourself. Play within the offense. You have the talent. Let's play more under control. Take the check down. Take some screens. let's you know let's kind of play smarter and so i think that if he does that he has all the physical talent in the world he can make every throw like that's not the issue with lawrence it's play more control play more in structure and i think then cohen will be able to do that yeah the jacks were 32nd in use of motion last year uh cohen with tampa was six you mentioned the screen game i think that's going to be such an important part of this whole thing right Absolutely.

41:38Especially because I do have still very serious questions about this Jacks offensive line, which we can talk about. But in Tampa, I mean, that was the best screen game in the NFL. According to FTN's data, they were first in EPA per play on screens by like a large margin. They averaged 8.1 yards per attempt. And it's a different group of players. But let me tell you, Travis Hunter on those screens in college, you know, I mean, good Lord. monster absolute monster yeah so i i think that's i think just getting the ball out quick which is another thing that cohen did really well with baker he brought down his time to throw all the short stuff trevor when the ball comes out quick it does look good you saw that a couple of years ago during his his good his the great season he had in 2022 so that's huge i like this group of skill players you mentioned obviously btj is a stud travis hunter is awesome dami brown is a deep threat i think it's an interesting addition um to me it's just a matter of like similar to the texans can the offensive line just be average and if they're not can the play caller mitigate that because lean come cohen coming from tampa he did not bring that offensive line with him no he tried i mean robert hanksy i mean it's not quite tristan worse yeah they bring and then they signed Patrick Macari to play guard.

42:58He's okay, but it's the same tackle duo. They're not terrible, but it's a problem. The run game is interesting because, so again, that's another thing that's not coming with him. I do think he tried in drafting Machel Tootin, by the way, who we can talk about, but your boy Bucky. So, you know, Tank Bigsby is just much better than Etienne at this point. Bigsby, ninth in rushing yards over expected per carry league wide which is the stat that looks at how much is a running back doing on his own basically etn was 38th last year i think he can be a part of the screen game he can be a pass catcher kind of the rashad white role but it's bigsby and then basial tootin who they drafted this year i feel like the red game has to flow through them primarily yeah i'm torn you know because i i have a soft spot for etn uh i think some of the things he does just from being able to break long runs, home run ability, his speed and explosiveness.

44:01I think there's room for him in that offense because he's much more explosive than Bigsby too, and he's also really explosive as well. So I think there's room for ETN, but yeah, to your point, I think Basial too could be the next Bucky Irving in terms of like fourth round, fifth round rookie, no one's even heard about really, and all of a sudden come week six, he's balling. You know, like I think he has that kind of talent. He can run inside, outside, really explosive. So I like him as a kind of one of those under the radar sleepers. But yeah, I think Liam Cohen, what he did so well in Tampa. And again, not different offensive line, no bucky or even, et cetera, but he improved Tampa's running game.

44:42I think they were last in 2023. And I think they were fourth last year. Like that's a drastic just year over year improvement. And I think that also went along with helping Baker Mayfield. So if the Jags run game takes that next step, that's going to help Trevor Lawrence stay out of schedule, avoid their longs. That's awesome. Offensive line, to your point, interior, they're okay. Robert Hainsey's okay. McCurry, left guard's okay. Ezra Cleveland, just a guy. But tackles, two athletic young tackles that need to take the next step. Point blank period need to develop. Anton Harrison at right tackle, I like, but it wasn't pretty last year.

45:29There was a lot of issues with him last year. And then Walker Little, I think he's serviceable. But certainly this is not a unit that you feel very strong about. And I think that is certainly a concern. It's the one thing that's really holding me back from like really up because I'm so high on Liam Cohn and what he did last year in Tampa you talked about the improvement in the run game I thought he was really good at evolving the offense to suit skill set of his backs and his linemen so now you know that can you do that in Jacksonville you know they don't have Graham Barton on the inside they don't have so they don't have Tristan worse in this unit so it's more challenging um I'm interested in the back deployment on different types of runs.

46:13Bigsby, I see, is being better for sort of the gap type stuff that they ran in Tampa. Tootin is, yeah. I mean, the Bucky Irving feels a little easy because he's small and he's explosive and he's shifty, but like that dude can go. I mean, he was second in college football behind Ashton Gentile in yards after contact per carry. He is super explosive. He's looked good during preseason as well. He's looked good. Like, I mean, like he's doing everything that's asked of him, you know? So I think, and again, Coleman has no connection to Bigsby or Etienne. I mean, like, Etienne could be a trade candidate mid-season.

46:46You know, he's on an expiring contract. They drafted two in the fourth round. I mean, they could easily get rid of Etienne if they so choose. So, yeah, he's going to have a lot of opportunity this year. The Jags defense was one of the, like, great tire fires of 2024. I feel like because the team wasn't competitive at the end, everybody just kind of let it go. But holy smokes, they were bad. Worst pass defense in the NFL, no matter how you slice it, DVOA, 32nd, 25th against the run, 32nd in pass rush win, which is what I want to start with because it's mind-boggling to me that a defense with Josh Hines Allen and Trevon Walker, who, look, I understand Trevon Walker, they were obviously wrong to pick him over Aiden Hutchinson.

47:35He's a good player. yeah he's not a great player but he's good Heinz Allen is great how can you have those pass rushers and still be so bad uh unsurprisingly they parted ways with their defensive coordinator uh Ryan uh Ryan Nielsen yeah so bring in Anthony Campanile from Green Bay but let's I want to start with like what went wrong and like why it was so bad because I think it's like kind of fascinating how bad they were. Yeah. I mean, I think Ryan Nielsen did an awful job kind of mirroring scheme to the personnel, right? I think Josh Allen Hines, he, or Josh Hines Allen, I think it is. I don't know what it is.

48:13Josh Hines Allen. He was playing at 285 last year. They bulked him up to kind of play more of that stand up or, you know, kind of on the ball, hat on hat, kind of gap control edge rusher instead of what he's best at is standing on a two-point stance and rushing after the quarterback. So I think already this offseason, it's great. He's lost down 20 pounds. He's going to be hunting more. So I expect a bounce back year from him. Trevor Walker, I think he's progressed every year in the NFL. Yeah, he's never going to be your 12-sack candidate kind of guy. That's not really his game. That wasn't even his game at Georgia.

48:53You know, he's always kind of that explosive run defender who can make a few splash plays, getting the quarterback. But being a high sack guy was never his, never his MO, you know. And I think outside of those two, the lack of depth at edge is concerning. You know, I like Dwayne Smoot coming from Buffalo. He's not a bad player. but just looking at this roster, Eric Armstead at his age, he's not the same guy inside. I think he's, he's not, he's already. Last year I was like, Oh God, he's your best third. It's like they haven't found the Arden key. No, and they miss it and they miss that. And they certainly miss that.

49:37And then Mason Smith, I thought had some flashes last year, second round pick at LSU last year. But yeah, you know, just after Josh Heinz Allen and Trevon Walker, it's the, the cup is really buried. You know, there's not a ton to work with. Zero pressure on the inside. The highest number of pressures they got from a defensive tackle was Devon Hamilton was 16, which was 65th amongst defensive tackles. So he just got nothing. And Nielsen, I mean, you know, he was rotating guys, but there was no creativity up front. I think that's where I'm going to be interested in seeing if Campanile can put a stamp on this because he is a defensive line coach.

50:20Yep. Can you find ways? You got two good edge rushers. Can you find ways to generate more pressure up front? And then on the back end, I mean, it's not great. No, it's not. I'm not going to surrogate this. It's not great at all. Okay. So I guess the starting corners would be Tyson Campbell, Jerrion Jones, who was decent in the slot last year, but then for some reason they signed Jordan Lewis. So now he's playing outside. Jordan Lewis is a good slot. I don't know how Travis Funter figures into all of this, but I'm not baking in a ton of him. Safety, it's like a mix of Eric Murray, Andrew Vingard, Darnell Savage, who I'm out on.

51:04Linebacker group outside of Foye, Ola Koon. You have Devin Lloyd, who was first rounder, who's just not lived up to that. I don't feel super optimistic about this back seven. Me, me either. I think from a personnel standpoint, you're hoping Tyson Campbell takes that next step. Stay healthy. And he's healthy. I was reading something. I think Anthony Kemp, I'm booking a message name, Kemp and Isle, he played predominantly zone in Green Bay, which is great. I think the Jags. Oh, that's another thing. oh my god all the man what are you doing dude they played so much man coverage they were so bad at it i was about to say the jags played the i think the second least amount of zone in the nfl last year and i think from a personnel standpoint campbell's a good zone corner hunter if and when he rotates in is a great zone corner so i think the scheme will fit the personnel better than it did last year and just i think naturally that should hopefully kind of raise the floor of this unit.

52:04But yeah, you don't feel great when you're reading off the names of a guy like Eric Murray, who's just a kind of seasoned vet. Andrew Ritgard, just a guy. The rookie of the draft day in the sixth round, I do like Rayon Lane. He could maybe fit in this rotation. But yeah, it's not the best back seven. and definitely going to have a lot of pressure on your front four to get home, which we talked about, that's lacking. Defensively, I don't feel great about this team, but hopefully this new defensive coordinator will get the guys playing better as an overall unit. Yeah, I think if he can just kind of stop the bleeding, stop some of the big plays, stop putting your defensive backs in difficult positions, and then find a way to get some pressure.

52:55Like you, it shouldn't be, I think where I overcome down is like, there's definitely holes and there's this lack of talent in the back, but it shouldn't be as bad as it looked last year. Also of note, I mean, they just got obliterated by throws to tight ends and running backs. So much trouble covering the middle of the field and number two receivers, bottom five in DVOA versus all those. They're bottom five in everything, but it was, that was a serious problem for them. Shohei Otani's interpreter was fired today. Ipe Mitsuhara ran up gambling debts to a Southern California bookmaking operation.

53:30The inside story of the biggest scandal in modern baseball. He was absolutely bananas, the amount of bets he was making. I've never seen anything like it. From 30 for 30 Podcasts, this is The Betrayal of Shohei Otani. Presented by Gusto. New episodes available now. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. When was the last time you felt in control of your business finances? Expenses tracked, invoices sent, taxes ready. That's where Found comes in. Found brings your banking, bookkeeping, invoicing, and taxes together in one simple app. Manage expenses, invoice clients, send payments, and prep for tax time right where you bank.

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54:44That's V-Y-V-G-A-R-T MyWay.com. and talk to your doctor about Vivgard Hattrulo. Brought to you by Argenics. All right. Tennessee Titans. Last one. Titans. Cam Ward. We've gotten a look. So let's start there. What have you thought watching him so far in the preseason? Because he's played a few drives. Yeah, I've liked what I've seen. I like his demeanor. I think first and foremost, the game doesn't look like it's too big for him. It looks like he belongs as a franchise quarterback. I appreciate that. The arm talent is what we thought it was. I mean, the throw, I think, last week to Van Jefferson, the deep over.

55:23Got to catch that. That was a dime. That was beautiful. I like his ability to just let it rip and not being gun shy. I think that has been evident. Yeah, I've really kind of been impressed with the overall Cam Ward experience, at least through two games in the preseason. it's kind of wild how little press or noise he's getting as a number one overall draft pick. I feel like he's the most kind of under talked about number one draft pick in the history. And it's obviously because of the whole Chador stuff and all of that. And it's a team. Cause we're going to get to this defense. Like there's, this is not going to be a good football team.

56:03I would be surprised. So I think that's, that's a huge part of why, Like if Cam Ward had been drafted by a more interesting team. I will say I am more optimistic about this offense as I kind of have taken time to like think through some of the players that they have and then some of the improvements that they've made. You know, I agree with your assessment of his preseason. It's been – he is always going to make this interesting and fun to watch because of his creativity as a passer, both inside and outside of structure. His aggression. He's just fun. He's going to take chances. is he's going to do stuff um and i i i i have mentioned this before but um i think the offensive line is headed in the right direction finally um like i know people didn't like sign like the dan more jr contract but at least he's competent um and then every day you get jc latham playing on the right side was probably better for him hopefully the interior now that you've got Lloyd Cushberry back, Kevin Zeitler.

57:00It's just like competent players.

57:05You mentioned the pass that Van Jefferson should have caught. I wish there was one more receiver. I'm hopeful that Elik Iomener. He was the guy. I think he has a chance to be their second best receiver. I liked him out of Stanford. I think he's looked good in the preseason. I think he has a chance. I, sorry to make this about fantasy. I'm going to try to get Calvin Ridley in every damn league I'm in. Because, oh my God, he's going to catch so many passes in this offense. And that was cool to see early on in week one when Ridley played, that connection. And, you know, I think it's funny because you saw with Ward too, when the ball comes out fast, Ridley's going to take advantage of those opportunities downfield.

57:56I think about the deep crosser he hit to him, and it looks good. I really think this could be a breakout Ridley year, who was obviously in QB hell last season. He's got to get the target, so that's for sure. If Cam Ward has made one thing clear, he thinks Calvin Ridley's a top five receiver in the league, and he's going to treat him as such. I think he's going to just have a huge volume of targets, and I think Calvin Ridley's skill set, he's going to be able to cash in on those. You know, he can win at all three levels of the field. Excellent in the quick game. Really good with the ball in his hands.

58:31Outstanding separator against man in zone. Like, I'm a huge Calvin Ridley fan. But, yeah, to your point, I don't love it beyond Calvin Ridley. You know, you have Tyler Lockett who at this point in his career, maybe there's still something left in the tank as a slot receiver, but could be a stretch. Van Jefferson, we know what he is. I think, again, the player that I do like is Elik A. O'Maner. big, physical, explosive. I think there's a chance he could be that number two guy. But as a rookie, I was kind of asking a lot. I don't love this team from a receiver standpoint. I do like their tight ends, though.

59:08I like Chig, Conquo, and then Gunnar Helm. I liked him. He's looked good. He's looked good in the preseason. I think they need to live in 12 personnel and just run the football. 12 personnel, run the football, play action. Let's call it a year. Helm, To me, soft hands, balanced, he's like a complete tight end. I think part of the reason he was drafted where he was and he's not like a crazy athlete. I think he ran slow. Yeah, but he's just a good player, man. He's just a good football player. And yeah, I do like that pairing. I like your idea of having them in 12 personnel. I think for Ward, and this is obviously a pretty well-known thing about him, you just got to – it's just pocket presence is kind of going to be where this year goes.

59:54can he continue to work at getting the ball out? Because he looks so good when it comes out quick. He's got such fun arm talent on the RPOs, sidearms. Don't bail. Don't take bad sacks. He's going to throw some interceptions. I'm going to tell you right now. This dude, he loves tight window throws. He loves throwing. He's really good throwing over the middle of the field, by the way. In college, he had a QBR of 95 between the numbers. 52 20 yard plus competition most of any quarterback between the numbers seems post loves it but he's going to get picked in the NFL he's going to be a learning experience even like there was I think it was in the first preseason game he attempted a whole shot was a little bit late on there's going to be lessons that was almost picked but I think they've done a better job certainly than they did with Levis who was an inferior player of surrounding him with at least competent NFL players, starting with the offensive line.

1:00:55Absolutely. I mean, you mentioned Dan Moore. I mean, yeah, they overpaid him, but you have to. He's a starting left tackle. You kind of have to overpay him. And yeah, the offensive line is not going to be as bad as people think. I like the move Latham over to right tackle. I think Skronsky at left guard is only going to get better. I think the theme for the Titans, because I'm in full agreement, I think this team isn't going to win a lot of games. but if they can leave the year feeling good about cam ward's development maybe you look more becoming that number two receiver gunner helms progression and some defensive rookies like uh feme elodejo like if they can leave the year with those rookies and they feel good about what they've seen on tape that's a win that to me is like their expectations hey like we know we're not going to win a lot of games this year we don't think cam ward is going to be like a jaden Daniels revelation, but if we can see clear, steady growth, steady progression, that's a win.

1:01:55Like that, that to me is the way I'd be looking at the Tennessee roster. You mentioned Daniels. I am interested in seeing how much Ward scrambles this year, because that was just such a big part of what made that Washington offense, you know, just radically surpass everybody's expectations. Daniels is a guy who wins from the pocket. He's accurate downfield, but the scramble, he made the most scrambles in football last year. It was huge. You can almost argue that Cam Ward didn't scramble enough at Miami last year. I feel like he was like, you know, people want to label me as the dual threat. I'm going to make it a point to win in the pocket, and he did.

1:02:30But in the league, I agree. I kind of hope he uses his legs more because he's an outstanding athlete. You and I are both Pac-12 RIP football fans. I mean, Washington, Wazoo Cam Ward was unbelievable. They were hard out. They were hard out. He ran way more earlier in his college career. So I think that is something that is, he could end up being a floor raiser for him in the NFL. So, cause he's capable of it. He's absolutely capable of it. He has ball security as well. You just need to take care of the football. Just don't fumble. Cause that was, that was, you know, as an Oregon guy like that, we were always good for one.

1:03:06He was always going to give us one, you know, one fumble. And so I think you can clean that up. You know, that would be good for the Titans. All right. The Titans defense is why, I mean, I just have trouble getting too optimistic about this team. It is a work in progress, to say the least. Last year, 24th against the pass, 16th versus the run.

1:03:31There's some changes. You brought in some players, not that many, but like they just always side these like older vets, I feel like. Um, up front, you have a good defensive tackle group. Yeah. That's the positives. This is the strength of the unit by far is I would say safety is decent. And then defensive tackle, Sebastian, Joseph day to Vondra sweat, who I thought was excellent last year. And then of course, Jeff Simmons edge is not a great, you mentioned when the younger players who will get to, but you know, it's, they signed Draymond Jones, who was just not that dude in Seattle. You want him playing inside.

1:04:05I think Arden Key, who we mentioned as being the Jags missing third edge rusher. They did have Cody Barton to play linebacker, who's fine. He's okay, yeah. But before we get to the back end, like the front seven, do you feel like, like we talked about Latu being the kind of potential catalyst or X factor. Do you think there's anyone in this group that you feel optimistic about? I mean, honestly, Arden Key, I think he's probably the player who's done it enough, right? Who's shown it that he can do it. I don't feel great about that, but it'd probably be him. I do love Femi Oladejo. He's coming out, but he's just way different than Leotu Lottu.

1:04:50You know, he's much more of the explosive, long kind of athlete, super raw. I mean, he was a linebacker kind of halfway through the year last year, and then they finally put his hand on the good dirt and let him rush the pass. You're like, I don't think he's someone in year one that can be trusted on to have a lot of production. And so I'm talking about guys like Arden Key and Draymond Jones. You know, I don't love that at all. Like, I don't know where their outside pressure is going to come from. and you lost Harold Landry in the offseason. He's in the Patriots now. I don't think they properly replaced that level of production.

1:05:29I think a lot of the onus is going to be on Jeffrey Simmons. I wouldn't be surprised to see Simmons rush more on the edge, honestly. I think he's probably the best pass rusher coming from the interior. So I don't feel great about that. And then you mentioned Cody Barron coming from Denver. just a guy you know he's good run defender not really great in coverage you know so i don't know how great he's going to be this year um and i don't i don't even know he's starting opposite him i think they currently have uh james really gray yeah so again two younger players who a little unproven so i think this front seven you feel great about the interior you you love tovandre sweat you love jeffrey simmons obviously sebastian joseph day is a good player but other than that i don't know what you can really hang your hat and feel good about yeah it's funny because the the back end i feel kind of the same way where like i like these safeties a lot and then the corners i do not like i mean on the interior you have a money hooker hooker i think has become really a good player xavier woods slash quandary digs kelvin winston jr from penn state who was injured but i think was an interesting prospect yeah um i like that that group of safeties.

1:06:43I think between next to Hooker, they're going to figure out who's best there, but I do like that. But then the corners are just... I mean, so right before I think we started recording, Legereus Need returned from injury. Hard to know what they're going to get out of him at this point. Jarvis Brownlee, Roger McCreary at nickel. Daryl Baker Jr. It's just not... They just don't have a lot. Yeah, don't have a lot. I mean, Brownlee played okay last year as a rookie, but you don't feel great about him being your maybe potentially number one corner depending on if Snead can stay healthy. Yeah, I mean, the Snead signing has just been such a disaster for them, for this team.

1:07:28Hopefully he can come back to where Lovely was at Kansas City because he was good. He was a dog with the Chiefs. You know, he would be a massive, massive impact defender for this defense, but I just don't know what the injury he had during the last season, the injury he had or the surgery he had in the offseason with his getting his knee cleaned up. I don't know how much you can realistically count on him to play all 17 games. And so, I mean, one injury to this defense, it's going to be a disaster. I mean, honestly, it's going to be an absolute disaster. There's no depth. You know, there's no depth anywhere.

1:08:03Yeah, I don't know. It's not going to be pretty, I feel like, for this defense. Yeah, I mean, hand up. I was dead wrong about Snead. I was like, how could Kansas City let him go? He's so amazing in the Super Bowl run. But they were concerned about the knee, I believe. And it's proven to be a pretty bad siding for Tennessee. You know, we talked earlier. You talked about kind of like building blocks. Look, the Titans clearly focused on the offseason or the offense part of me. they did like again Dan Moore Jr. you can whatever they wanted Cam Ward to be in a decent situation and I don't have issues with the way they went about this offseason with regards to recognizing the most important thing which was making sure the quarterback had a better infrastructure around him came a little bit I think at the expense of the defense that's how it is the NFL right like if you don't draft well and they haven't um outside of sweat you just don't have a lot of like young exciting players so that's obviously going to be a big project probably for next year but i i denard wilson their defensive coordinator pretty up against it um yeah best of luck best of luck who do you think is i mean it's funny because the jags were actually way worse statistically but they at least have those edge rushers yeah i mean i just based on the corners for the titans and the secondary i feel like they're this is probably the worst unit um i i will say i did like i appreciate the level of physicality and the effort that the unit showed last year like i think they played team defense you know They rallied with the football.

1:09:49They – not too many big, big mental mistakes. I just think from a talent standpoint, this team is just deficient on this unit. So I'd probably say the Jags are a little better off, but I don't know how big that kind of gap is. Well, that brings me to the final ranking. I feel like we're going to have the same first and the same fourth team. Yeah. Second and third, I think, could go either way, though. So where are you personally, where are you landing one, two, three, four AFC South? Yeah. So one, I think the Texans are obviously the clear cut favorite in this division. I think rightfully so. I just think from the defensive standpoint and then quarterback, skill position, coach, like top down, they're the best in this division.

1:10:35Two, I'm actually going to go with the Colts, you know, surprisingly. I just I'm optimistic the Jaguars offense can kind of make up for their defense and I think Cohen can turn Trevor Lawrence hopefully to a better version than what we've seen over the past few years but I just think the Colts roster top to bottom is better I think there's better talent on both sides of the line of scrimmage I like the Colts playmakers and again like I know Daniel Jones isn't, you know, we're not super excited about him, but there could be a path where he's average. And I think if he's average, the Colts are just a better team than the Jags.

1:11:20So then third, I'll go Jags. And fourth, I'll go Titans. And again, I think Titans fans just hope your rookies progress, show growth, and I think that's a win. Yeah, I'm aligned with you. I like to kind of do the pod first and then think it through. And I think just talking about the Jags defense convinced me of the Colts and talking about the Colts defense. I mean, they just think they have like, actually like good to great players at every level. I really believe. Yeah. Um, the corner group, I mean, we mentioned Ward, but like, you know, you got Jalen Jones, Juju Brent's like, there's just better players.

1:11:53The safeties are good now. Like I, I just, I like Louie Anna Ramo. I don't think they're going to be a force by any means. I don't think either side of the ball, they're going to be a top 10 unit, but I think it's definitely possible for the Colts that both sides of the ball could at least be above average, whereas it's very hard for me to see the Jags defense getting there. I think the Jags offense could get there, but the defense just has such a long way to go. And then the Titans, we've kind of laid it out, I think, yeah. All right, well, that has been the AFC South. That was the last division preview.

1:12:30If you're listening to this and you're wondering, I'd like to hear you talk about another team. Go back and check. We've done every single division. Probably don't know if you're listening to this and be like, why are they talking about the Vikings? Go back. I've done every division. I'll put them all out. Once again, you can watch them on YouTube. Speaking of YouTube, my television podcast with David Dennis Jr. We have a new episode coming out tomorrow where we're recapping episodes one through three of Alien Earth. Have you watched this currently? No, I haven't. What's it on? Is it on? It's on FX.

1:13:01FX, okay. All right. It's on Hulu. You can watch it on Hulu. I'm currently watching The Wire. Trying to watch that for the first time. Dang. Season one? Season one, yeah. I just got to a good part. We'll see if I can continue to get into it. Wow. What a time to re-watch The Wire. I think we did The Wire during the pandemic. Not the entire series, but some of the seasons. Well, Godspeed. I'm jealous of you that you're on that journey. Alien's very good, though. You should check it out. Especially if you like sci-fi or horror. I love sci-fi. Well, thank you. It's, it's, uh, you can check it out.

1:13:34Viewer discretion is the name of the pod. Please go download, subscribe, et cetera. Thank you. And always to my friends at Omaha productions who work on this show, Kirsten Sebecki, Owen Saylor, Jack Foster, Tucker Tashin. And next week I will be back, um, again with the twice a week, but the team draft with Michael Jr. The annual team draft is here. Uh, so that's always a fun episode. We will draft every NFL team. And also we will announce who won last year.

1:14:13Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for$15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made$15 bills. But it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Well, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for a 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms.