Publix Tailgate Show: Adam Archuleta, CBS Sports

CBS Sports analyst Adam Archuleta previews the Week 14 Titans-Jaguars matchup with J.P. Shadrick on the Publix Tailgate Show.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
With the call of today's game on CBS Sports. It's
analyst Adam arch Aletta, and it's good to see you.
I know you've had the Jags a few times this year,
but here we are in mid December and things have
gone off the rails for the Jacksonville Jaguars at one
and eleven. It's great to see you though, Adam. Thanks
for taking the time. Yeah, no problem. I I feel
like I know the Jacksonville quite well. They'm almost like

(00:22):
a home announcer for them, right the Jaguars Television Network
with the Spiro and Adam on the call. Yet again,
let's start with this, Adam, were you ever on a
team that lost eleven in a row? And what's the
mindset right now? You think I was not on a
team that lost eleven in a row. I've certainly been
a part of a couple losing seasons where at this point,

(00:45):
or you know, late November, you're out of it. So
I know what that feeling is like. And I've also
got to imagine that just the way that this season
has gone, as far as all the COVID stuff and
the restrictions and the lack of Camaradero re you know,
the lack of really being in there in the locker room.
I'm sure that that probably weighs on players because you know,

(01:06):
relationships and being there together, Um, that's a big part
of the game as well, and that's a big part
of where you get your joy from. So I would
imagine that this is a very difficult season for the
coaches and the players who at this point not only
have losing seasons, but really don't have a playoff season
to look forward to. It's it's it's got to be
a real challenge. These are obviously two teams going in

(01:30):
in opposite directions since the week to match up. The
Jags haven't won since that Tennessee game in Nashville. The
Titans are in first place, eight and four. They have
an offense that can do a lot of different things.
The defense has its moments where it can be shaky.
But you know, it's amazing how things just went totally
different directions after Week two. It is. And you know,

(01:53):
we we had the first game of the season against
the Colts, and so we thought, wow, you know, I
think coming into this season, everybody kind of knew that
the roster, you know, was a little young and a
little inexperience, and there would be some bumps this year.
But after the way they started out that Colts game,
with Colts a legitimate football team, you thought, okay, well,
you know, maybe you can kind of get something going here. Um,

(02:17):
at the end of the day, I just think, and
you kind of look at Tennessee as well. On the
defensive side of the ball, Um, the talent is just
not there to be consistently good, you know. And and
in terms of the passing game, and in terms of
not being able to get after the passer, um not
being able to cover you know, those things, those two

(02:38):
things go kind of hand in hand. You have to
be excited and please with the way Jacksonville has run
the football. I think that's a positive part of it.
But at the end of the day, Um, they do
need to upgrade their talent and they just have to
get better. Adam Marshal Lena with us from CBS Sports,
and you mentioned the running game for the Jaguars, and
it's a great running back matchup to day two of

(03:00):
the top three running backs of the NFL in terms
of artist, Jarrick Henry on the other side, James Robinson,
the undrafted rookie for the Jacksonville Jaguars, it doesn't get
much better than this matchup. Two different styles of backs though,
and Henry and Robinson, Yeah, they're very, very different. I mean,
we all know what Derrick Henry brings to the table
and just the commitment to their running game and just

(03:23):
how they just kind of wear on you as the
game goes on, very similar to what Cleveland um and
how they use their running game. When you look at Tennessee,
I think you know the cliche every week as announcers,
we always say, well, you gotta get to Derrick Henry
before he gets started, right, you know, that's kind of
everybody says that. If you look at last week what

(03:45):
Cleveland did, they actually did that. Um, you had linebackers
getting free shots and to their credit, UM a lot
of great one on one tackles UM and and their
defensive line, their front really did a nice job of
keeping their linebackers clean. So that truly is really kind
of the key to Tennessee. Now when you look at Jacksonville,

(04:06):
I think you've got to be a pressed with Robinson
A But to me, when I look at them in
the last couple of weeks with Glennon at quarterback. They
The feeling to me is that they look like a
normal NFL offense really kind of for the first time.
And I think Gruden has been able to find his
groove as a play caller a little bit. You know,

(04:27):
glenn is not a perfect quarterback, but I think when
he had Gardner in there, it was a lot of
one read, scramble, try and make something happen, you know,
not really a traditional passing game. And I think Luton
kind of the same thing. You know, he missed some throws,
missed some protections. I think now they're there finally able

(04:47):
to call more of a balanced game and I and
I really think you're seeing what Robinson can do if
you give and you have a balanced offense rather than
playing from behind and then just getting to a past
first mentality. So I do think Glennon has really helped
Robinson kind of find his own even more so as
the season has gone on. But also has to help

(05:07):
the offensive line because they have a little more time,
they know what's gonna happen back there or have a
better idea. And it also helps those wide receivers when
they're not getting frustrated running down the field all the time.
And all of a sudden things have to go away. Yeah,
I think it all plays. It all plays together again.
You know, Glennon hasn't played a lot of football in
the last three years, but you do see that he does.

(05:29):
He does go through progressions and you can be a
little bit more sophisticated in the passing game. And so
um to me, just the fact that the the offense
has balance and I think you're starting to see again
Gruden called the plays a little bit differently and and
use Robinson be able to use him in the third
and fourth quarter effectively when he's actually a threat. Um,

(05:52):
it really does help the offense out. So um, I've
actually enjoyed watching the offense here in the last couple
of weeks, and I think it's a little closer to
what they envisioned when they brought j Gruden here as
a play caller. Adam Archialletta with us from CBS Sports
has the call of the jaguarris and the Titans coming up.
All right, Derrick Henry gets loose past the second level
safety Adam Argiletta's standing between Henry and the end zone.

(06:15):
What's the approach? Yeah, that's uh, that's nasty. Um, that's
the that's the safety's worst nightmare. I mean, one on
one open field. I mean, let's be honest, the running
back that he's supposed to win that you know eight
out of ten times. The key is you've got to
know where your help is. You've got to get guys
running to the ball, and you've got to take your shot,

(06:37):
and you've got to be aggressive. You can't come in
soft and know that if you take your shot and
you do miss, you gotta make him stutter his feet
and that the rest of your teammates are gonna come
in from inside out and give you help. If you
try and play it soft, you're just not gonna win
that battle. You you've got to be aggressive, you've got
to take your shot, and you've got to have help.

(06:58):
And that's really the only way you can approach it.
Final thought with you here, Adam, is this a Tennessee
team that can finish the job in the regular season
and do they have staying power if they get to
the playoffs? Well, I think it's it just depends. Um, Defensively,
they're not there to be able to say you can
count on them. Um, they're just not. They They also

(07:20):
are playing with a lot of backups. They also don't
really have the ability to consistently pressure disrupt the quarterback,
and they're struggling with matchups in the secondary. So, Um,
the fact that they can't get off the field on
third down, that is that's a trend. That's just not
an exception. Um. To me, you have to have some concern.
Now they're capable of playing a good, complimentary game, you

(07:41):
just don't know which defense is gonna show up. And
so to me, that is a definite legitimate concern. And
I just don't know if you can have confidence that
weekend week out, if a playoff caliber offense is playing
really good, can that defense consistently step up. Um, they're
gonna have to rely on their offense probably scoring more

(08:01):
than thirty points a game. We know some of these
offenses in the f C and the powerhouses they are,
so it is quite a challenge ahead. All right, Hey,
appreciate the time and have a great call today, and
I appreciate it. All right, any time, Thank you very much.