April 15, 2025 • 33 mins
John Oehser is joined by Brian Sexton on this morning's Jags A.M.. The players have completed the first week of the offseason program. The crew highlights some key moments from last week's media availability that included Foye Oluokun, Trevor Lawrence and Liam Coen. Later, Kainani Stevens interviews Senior Writer of The Athletic, Jourdan Rodrigue, about James Gladstone's history at the Los Angeles Rams.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Hello, and welcome to jaggs. Am.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I'm Brian Sexton, and today I am the lead singer
of the band and the driver of the Winnebego. Ky
Stevens is out, so I'm filling in in her role,
but he're not. We've got a great show for you
and we'll start as we always do, with big things.
In January when new head coach Liam Cohen signed on,
he's spoke in broad platitudes about his mission about what
(00:49):
he was working towards. But since then last week, specifically
when he met with the players, he now has dialed
it in and he shared it with the media last
week and year three big topics with you on which
Liam Cohen was much more specific, and the first is culture.
It's a big word. We've talked about it a lot,
and the coach was very specific.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Team meeting about rules and regulations, introductions. We had a
team meeting as well about our style of play first
and foremost, really before we dive into the culture, we're
going to dive into the way that we're going to
play out on the grass. We also had a culture
meeting with the entire building which was really cool, where
it was all departments everybody was involved, and it was
(01:33):
just a cool way of getting together, establishing the communication
lines and how we want to do things and operate.
So it is very important at this moment in time
for us.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah, and John, you and I were in that meeting,
and he talked about rules in the way that the
team would approach it. He said he had to protect
the team be on time. But in those two rules,
he set up the expectation level for his team about
their professionalism in the way they would go about their business.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Yeah, I'm curious, Brian, if you're the leader of the band,
am I the roadie who doesn't wash enough before you
gets some of the us I knew something.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
That would be one person that would get it.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Yeah, there'd be something like that for me. Look for
you and I, Brian, and the fans. This is really
not our time of year, right, but is the coach's
time of year and the player's time of year, especially
when there's a regime change. And I say all that
to get to the fact that fans when they hear
(02:30):
words like culture and when they hear buzzwords and all
these things that start with alphabet letters and then they
spell out so players can remember them. Fans roll their eyes,
as I've heard this before, but for these guys, for
trying to establish their tone, trying to establish what's going on,
these weeks are really important and I liked everything I
(02:51):
heard last week from William Cohen. I would be sort
of disingenuous if I tried to tell fans what's different
about it. To me, what's different this time of year
has to come through in not necessarily what said, but
what the players feel from these coaches, especially Liam Cohene
and the leadership group. I think they're learning that they're
(03:14):
going to like.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
What they hear from those guys. To me, that's the
big picture, and we will hear from a couple of
the players. Trevor Lawrence and Foyer Lucan spoke with media
last week. We'll have that coming up later in the show.
Another big word was workload. Let's be honest, John, We
talk about the offseason programing OTAs while they're happening, but
when we get to the preseason or training camp, we
forget all about it because the workload isn't that heavy.
(03:37):
It's about getting some things done. Liam go and focused
a little bit on what he would ask of his
players over these next couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
We're going to throw as much at these guys mentally
in this offseason, as much as we can handle, and
probably more, much more actually, because it's not a physical
time of the year, it's a time of the year
we can stress the mentally. Ultimately, throw that as much
Adam as we can from Minnesota, from Tampa, from LA
(04:09):
from Green Bay, whatever it is, and see what we
can handle. We're not going to know who we're truly
going to be for a while, but it's more so
testing to see how much they can handle and if
maybe some of those concept schemes fundamentals fit our players.
That's a great question, because that's something that we're constantly
working through right now.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Is the staff Shohn.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
With a new coach, new coaching staff, there's obviously a
lot of learning that will go on, but it's not
just the players, it's the coaches learning about these players
based on what coach Cohen just said, how much they
can handle them, what they can throw at them.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Yeah, I tn Brian, as you know, to make fun
of OTAs a little bit or in the off season
program because it's not padded work. Bear in mind, I'm
very well aware that I'm not the one out there
doing the work.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
It's hard.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
They use this time to get in shape. But I
do think anybody who's watched Brian knows that you and
I OTAs we get it.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
But they're not that.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Big of a deal to us because it's not padded work.
But for players, I don't want to dismiss the importance
of these, especially in a new regime, and it's for
these act reasons. You say, these guys have to figure
out what these players can do, what their workload is,
they have to get ready for it. I'm always one
(05:27):
once a coach has been here three or four years,
there are certain players I don't necessarily think have to
have OTAs right now with a new regime, they're critically.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Important and our final big thing, John. I was at
the Bisselli Foundation events this weekend, lots of Draguars supporters
and fans. They wanted to talk about free agency, in particular,
they want to talk about the draft, which.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Is coming up in nine days.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
But I always brought it back to this and it's
our third big thing, and it is Trevor the quarterback
is central to Liam Cohen and his staff getting this
job done. Putting this team on the right track to
win long term. And Liam lash we talked a little
bit about his efforts so far with the Jaguars franchise quarterback.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
We are trying to create black and white lines when
it comes to footwork in ways so that understanding that
the game is played in the gray. There's so much
that occurs on a play. If you can have core
fundamentals in footwork that you believe in and that you
trust in those times of crisis, you have something to
(06:29):
actually fall back on and play with a quieted mind.
And so this is a great opportunity now that he
is a little limited from a throwing standpoint, that we
can dive into the footwork. He can dive into it
on his own time and really work at this thing.
So he's committed to it. It's something that we feel
strongly about that can help him continue to get better
(06:52):
and ultimately on Sundays, we hope that shows up.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
John.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
I know the storyline coming out of that media news
conference last week was the footwork, and obviously people want
to focus on the fundamentals. To me, it was the
quieted mind. It's finding a way to help Trevor relax
and be his best.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
Yeah, And as you said at the top, all the
moves they've made, even the draft, it's all going to
circle back to how much they can get this running
game going and how much more they can get out
of Trevor.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
If he ascends, if he gets.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Back to where he was playing in late in twenty two,
then there can be dramatic improvement for this team. There was,
as you might expect in the ozone, a lot of
oh my goodness, what's wrong with this footwork?
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Why hadn't this been fixed?
Speaker 4 (07:36):
To me, that is more about getting his footwork timed
with this offense. So I don't think it's that unusual.
And the reason that you want to do that from
what Liam Cohen and Trevor both said, You're trying to
get the footwork right so you can get that quieted mind,
so you can know what you're doing with your feet
(07:57):
and let your feet and the footwork and the time
of these things guides you in your decision making.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
As I think Liam said, once.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
It's crazy out there, there's a lot of stuff being
thrown at quarterbacks on every play. The more they can
have muscle memory, meaning footwork guiding them to their decisions
and their reeds. Then the easier it is when chaos starts.
So I think you're right. I think that's really the
takeaway from it. Although people obviously focused on.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
The footwork element.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And I loved the fact that we talked about black
and white and rules and strategies and how everything works,
but that the game isn't black and white, it's played
in the gray. That was a takeaway and I thought
it was very insightful as to how this coach is
working with his staff to get things righted here in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
That does it for big things.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
When we come back, we'll hear from Trevor Lloyance and
Foyer Lucon at the end of the first week of
the off season program. Will hear from them next on
jags Am. Welcome back to jags Am. Brian and John
with you here on a Tuesday. We appreciate you joining
us nine days out from the NFL Draft, and we'll
(09:06):
have plenty of conversation about that coming up. But John,
let's go back to what we were talking about. Last
week was the first week for the players and the coaches,
not just to be in the building and you know
it's not padded stuff, but to get to know each
other because everything had been so limited since the coach
was hired and brought his staff on board.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, part of my stick. You know, I got some shit.
I do know, man is OTAs. What do they matter?
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Coaches overplay them. And that's more joking than it is anything, because.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I just like to joke that I don't like being
out there in the sun.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
There is a after a while once players have been
in a scheme. I do think there is a little
bit of a diminishing returns for some players when they're
here in their third year under a guy. But for
trying to establish a culture, when else are you going
to do it? Because there's not time anymore. Training camp
is so short without that much padded work, and you know,
(09:57):
you can say what you want about, well, it's not pads.
I happen to walk by with them doing some on
the field work at one point and heard what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
I'm not going to do it.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
So yeah, they are working and this is critical time
and it is you know what we're seeing here too.
It's a new strength and conditioning staff and the strength
and conditioning staff. If you think about these guys' work day,
their schedule, they're with these guys more than they are
their position coaches. So the strength and conditioning staff gets
a pretty quick idea of who's dedicated, who's there all
(10:33):
the time. So I'm sure, I'm sure Liam Cohen is
having conversations with the strength guys.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Hey, hey, what are these guys about? What makes them tick?
But it's interesting.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
One more thing on the culture, and I'm big on
it because I didn't sense any of it last year,
and I know there are people that argue with me
that there was some, but obviously at four and thirteen
there wasn't much. It's not just the culture to the players.
But you know, Liam has got a new staff together
and they're having to figure it out from their own
perspects of how they're going to do it. They can
talk about it theoretically in the time that the players
(11:04):
aren't here, but when the players return, well, now you're
implementing that culture. You're implementing all of the things the
way that the coach wants to accomplish the mission on
a daily basis with these players. So it's important time
for both the coaches and the players.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Well, sometimes other situations in life apply to football.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
How do you build culture?
Speaker 4 (11:23):
If you're the defensive staff, how do you build culture
with Traylon Walker and Josh heinz Allen if they're not there,
meaning it's in meetings, as you pass guys in the hallway,
it's having a joke with them as you go by
them after they've lifted all of those things. There's no
(11:46):
way to build that kind of stuff without human interaction,
and furthermore, without the coaches showing these players what they're
all about. You've been around this long enough to know.
I don't know that it's fir first impressions me and everything,
but players belief in the coaches. That was one of
Liam's points last week is belief in this thing. It's
(12:09):
a very nebulous, hard thing to grasp. But unless players
believe coaches can't do anything, the belief starts to get built. Now,
where the players look at these guys is on the
podium and when they're in rooms with them and say,
can I be around this guy? Can I believe in
what this guy is selling? That's part of what makes
(12:32):
this time so critical.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Right, let's hear from a couple of the players on
what they think so far. We'll start with the quarterback
Trevor Lawrence, who talked a bit about the footwork issue
that we just heard from the coach.
Speaker 5 (12:43):
More than any system I've ever learned, it's structured and
based on that, and it's so everything's tied exactly to
all right, this route is on this timing, so then
your next progression is off of this footwork, off this timing,
so it all ties in perfect. You don't have multiple
routes declaring at the same time, which is art as
a quarterback because then you're sitting back there and you
got to make a decision before really the guys open
(13:06):
or covered, you know. So I think they've done a
really good job with the system of really thinking through
how does it tie into quarterbacks feet And that's what
we've been talking about. And it takes some work and
you know, flipping my stands, just some little things like
that that are small that many people wouldn't notice, but
it is. I have so many banked reps of the
other way. I got to just get all these on
my own and work them. So once camp comes around,
(13:26):
I'm ready to go.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
John Trevor, for not having much time at this point
in the system, had obviously paid attention to what they
did in Tampa with Baker Mayfield and understood the basic
concepts of what footwork and timing would do for them
in this offense. Yeah, I've covered a lot of availabilities.
As you know, it's mainly what we do during the week.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
I've covered Trevor for a while, so after a while
you start figuring out, Okay, most of availabilities. They're just
saying things that could apply to any situation because they're
trying to get through the pressor But in this case,
I thought he said some interesting things about this offense.
He did emphasize at one point it's not easy to learn,
and that speaks to what he's going to be going
(14:08):
through and what his teammates are going to be going through.
And that's fine. It's his third offense in five NFL seasons.
But he also said at one point that he really
likes what they're doing. He believes in the concepts. So
if you think about it, when were you best in school?
I was never good in school, But when your best
is when you know what you're studying for, you can
come out on the other end and you know it's
(14:29):
going to benefit you. It certainly sounds like he believes
in this. He believes in the concepts, and I think.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
We go back to the footwork stuff.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
The footwork stuff, once you learn it, it's designed to
make it easy. It's designed to be able to perform
in the gray area because they're making black and white rules.
So you can certainly see Trevor who has to be
going through some on the inside this offseason. At some point,
I've got to get it going. I've got to be
what I believe I can be. I would think looking
(15:01):
at this and seeing the success that Mayfield has, he's saying,
I can latch onto this.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
This can be my rope out to where I want
to be. Let's stay with the Mayfield theme for just
a moment. Coming off of his best year, the one
year under Liam Cohen in Tampa, forty one touchdowns, the
running game was strong, and Trevor was asked about his
relationship his knowledge of Mayfield.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
I haven't yet, you know, I know Baker. I wouldn't say, well,
but we're buddies and every time I see him, you know,
we try to catch up talk. I really got a
lot of respect for him. I haven't got a chance
to yet, but I need to. I've heard through other
people that I've talked to, Baker had different things throughout
the offseason that he's just says great things about him
and how much he helped him, and said I'm gonna
(15:43):
love playing for him. So I've kind of heard that
through I guess mutual friends and stuff.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
All right, let's turn it to the defensive side, and
here from Foyer Aluit cunning who talked a little bit
about last season and why things went south and what
it means now with a new coaching staff in Jackson, and.
Speaker 6 (16:01):
We didn't win last year, so I think whatever changes
that are coming are accepted because obviously we didn't play
up to the stand that we needed. So whatever was
going on, you know, if it's if it's we can't
really promise more wins, but obviously we needed maybe a
new way to attack the season, a new way to
attack the off seasons and stuff. So I think everybody's
very accepting of everything new that's in store for us.
(16:24):
You know that that equates to more wins.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
The linebacker wants to win more and he is open
to whatever it takes to get there.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
Yeah, And I thought that was clearly the most interesting
thing he had to say. Look, The reality is they
put these guys in the podium because they have to
last week, and they're at the time they're two or
three days into getting to know these guys. So for Foyer,
if for anybody really to stand up there and.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Say, hey, I love these guys, I'm all in. They're
still learning them.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
So I thought Foyer's comments were very insightful and very professional.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Hey, we were four and thirteen last year. We didn't
win enough. There's gonna be chain, So these are the
guys that come in.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
We're gonna give this a chance. We like what we're hearing.
He's a very intelligent guy who tries to say what's
really on his mind during these things, and I think
he was very honest, of very anxious to see what
Anthony Campanili and the staff is saying, likes it and
is ready.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
To embrace it.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
I think he'll be a lot better on it in
training camp when everybody understands what everybody's all about. They're
still on their first week of school and still trying
to get to know their teachers. I liked what I
heard last week, and I think it's gonna be fascinating
to watch all.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Right, when we come back on drags AM more perspective,
this time on the Jaguars from the Los Angeles Rams view,
or at least someone.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Who covers them.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Kyle Stevens sat down with Jordan rod Riek, who covers
the Rams for The Athletic, and we'll bring you that
conversation after this am. Move the freight. Move the freight.
Magellan voted the coolest workspace in Jacksonville, invites you to
(18:13):
check them out and see if you can help them
move the freight at magellan dot com. All right, Brian
to John with you back here on Jags a M
and Kay Stevens, who is out last week, found time
to connect with someone who covers the Rams on a
daily basis for The Athletic. Jordan Rodrigo has an excellent
(18:33):
podcast called The play Callers. You should check that out.
Check out Kay's conversation first.
Speaker 7 (18:38):
All right, I'm here now with the Athletics senior writer
covering the LA Rams, Jordan rodrig Thank you so much
for joining us. I know you're very well versed with
James Gladstone and kind of how the Rams do things,
so I really wanted to pick your brain on this.
Speaker 8 (18:49):
A little bit. Thank you so much for having me.
How is La Rams East good?
Speaker 7 (18:53):
It's going really well. We love the vibe in the building.
It's very I mean obviously beach towns and whatnot, but yes,
we're loving this.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
It's very lighthearted.
Speaker 7 (19:01):
The change was immediate. Obviously you've been around James a lot,
so you know the deal, but just the whole regime
change has been really great here, so it's kind of exciting.
And now that we're getting into the draft time, which
is obviously the front office's favorite time of year, we're
kind of learning a little bit more about him. But
what we heard from the interview process was when James
Gladstone came in, just his interview as a whole, his
(19:21):
vision was really what sold them because we had been
hearing some other names maybe as favorites going in, but
James really came in out of not out of nowhere,
but just kind of really won them over with what
he had to say. So with your time working with him,
were you surprised by that at all or were you
kind of Yeah, of course, anyone that would talk to
him would probably see it that way.
Speaker 9 (19:39):
You know, when I saw his name included on the list,
first of all, I was like.
Speaker 8 (19:43):
Oh, how did Less Snead let that happen?
Speaker 9 (19:45):
Because he has been so behind the scenes for so
many years in LA. But to know James and to
have worked with them as closely as I did last
year where I was interred with their draft and scouting department,
is to not.
Speaker 8 (19:59):
Be surprised by this at all.
Speaker 9 (20:01):
The way that he not only has a vision and
a very meticulous and granular plan for every operation and
every part of the talent identification, scouting and draft process,
the talent acquisition process, part of the pro personnel department
as well, and the way more so, the way he
can explain it. It was just to me, I called
(20:21):
Less and I was like, all right, good luck keeping
this guy now, you know, And it just it was
no surprise, I think to anyone who's ever worked with him,
that he quickly dominated this interview and became the guy
because he just can explain a vision and then goes
and creates that vision, as he did in Los Angeles
when they overhauled their draft department two and twenty twenty three.
Speaker 7 (20:43):
Absolutely, we've seen that already, even just with free agency,
you know, making cap space, letting go of some veterans,
some faces that we were familiar with around here, but
going to the draft, it's exciting for us to kind
of see where this might end up. Obviously, outside looking in,
we've seen what the RAMS have done the last couple
of years.
Speaker 8 (21:00):
Was James's role in all of that?
Speaker 7 (21:01):
Because the way you guys have been drafting last couple
of years, the RAMS have been really successful.
Speaker 9 (21:06):
Yeah, well, James was sort of moved into this role
to help basically overhaul the entire operation of not just
the scouting processes and keeping what worked, but also modernizing
and making things a little bit more progressive in other ways,
changing some of the strategy with which they approached the draft,
blending certain analytics programming that they were creating, some of
(21:29):
which they created from scratch.
Speaker 8 (21:30):
So Jake Temmy joining the organization, I.
Speaker 9 (21:32):
Think is also quietly a huge and significant move for
the Jaguars some of the ways that they attacked the
draft and strategized treating it as if it's a game
that they're play calling in less so sort of a
luck of the draw type of thing. And I think
that this is going to be really interesting because you're
going to start to see at least some of those
(21:52):
probably not all until next off season, but at least
some of those practices and processes take place immediately with
strategy that they use. I know he's going to be
using a call sheet like Lesneed does, like as a
play callerwood that you see on the sidelines, like Liam
cohenwell when he calls games. You know he's going to
use a lot of these different methods that the RAMS
(22:14):
also had in place. But knowing James, he's also going
to put his own twist and spin on things. And
also knowing James, he's a listener, so he's not going
to just come in and want to do things only
his way, only the RAMS way. He's going to listen
to what actually works and what has been working and
clicking with the scouting department and Talent ID process that's
already in place, and also making sure that those people
(22:37):
feel comfortable with this transition and that they feel heard
that those methods are also being deployed as well as
sort of this hybrid older regime newer regime draft that's
about to happen.
Speaker 7 (22:48):
Sure, because we talk a lot about the upper leadership
obviously with Tony Bisselli coming in as EVP and then
Liam Cohen as the new coach, but the scouting department
is still the past scouting department other than a couple
of pieces that have been added. So a lot of
collaboration to see there as to what they're exactly going
to do. But they do have ten picks as of
this point. For those aren't four Six of them are
in the first couple of rounds of the draft. So
(23:09):
to kind of hear those numbers, I mean with the Rams,
obviously it's not necessarily going to be the exact same
way that he's.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Done it before.
Speaker 7 (23:14):
But would anything surprise you with how he functions or
is it kind of just be prepared for anything with him?
Speaker 8 (23:20):
No, Yeah, you've nailed it.
Speaker 9 (23:22):
Because one thing I've learned over the last several years,
particularly covering this Los Angeles Rams team and just how
differently they do things relative to other teams across the league, is.
Speaker 8 (23:33):
You go in expecting literally anything.
Speaker 9 (23:35):
I'd say, trading up obviously in this case, you know,
would they pick so high in the first round anyway,
But like trading up has always been the least likely scenario.
Speaker 8 (23:43):
With this team.
Speaker 9 (23:44):
But I recall, you know, I did an interview with
James and Greg Rosenthal for NFL daily at the combine
and James slipped in this little oh, we have ten
picks for now.
Speaker 8 (23:52):
Yeah, that's a total.
Speaker 9 (23:53):
That totally got my trigger going and te okay, yeah,
all right. With the Rams had fourteen picks when they
were totally building their roster in twenty twenty three and
replacing some of those patch and go older, cheaper veterans
on those contracts as they went. Bringing in the large
free agency class sent a signal to me that they're
going to try to over time.
Speaker 8 (24:16):
Take those spots and fill them with.
Speaker 9 (24:18):
Draft picks that they're going to draft and develop, but
also need those veterans to help the young kids grow right,
and also need those veterans to help maintain the viability
of the roster while those players are developing. So I
would not be surprised to see James go get as
many picks as he possibly can. And the Rams found
five starters in that first class and then five in
the ten draft pick class the next season, so I
(24:40):
would not be surprised.
Speaker 8 (24:41):
To see him go volume on this.
Speaker 7 (24:43):
We've heard a lot about obviously draft and develop, but
you know, giving them a chance as rookies to be
contributors right off the bat right, So picking at five
at least for us what we've been discussing, there's a
lot of positions they could go with. I always say
anything besides quarterback, I wouldn't be surprised whatsoever. So what
are some things that you know James really values in
terms of when looking at draft picks. Not necessarily always
need of the team, but what's something he values in
(25:04):
the players that he evaluates.
Speaker 9 (25:07):
Yeah, I will be interested to see how this develops
the in your building and in their building, because I
certainly got a first hand look of how this developed
in Los Angeles under James, where they the Rams have
found a way to and I don't want to say quantified,
because I think that's reductive of what it actually is,
but to articulate like how a person, a human being
(25:28):
will fit not just within their building, but also within
Sean mcvay's offense.
Speaker 8 (25:33):
And I know Liam is incredibly drawn to that and
also has firsthand experience with that. And that takes an
extremely high level of communication between the coaching.
Speaker 9 (25:42):
Staff and the front office, which I know is a
priority for the three people in leadership in Tony, James
and Liam, and I think that that's what is going
to really inform like the type of person that they
decide to bring in. The Rams started throwing out some
of the I guess stereotypical like traits based analyses. You know,
(26:04):
they don't really care about arm length if the player
could play. Braiden Fisk is an example of that. They
don't really care about the age of the player if
the player can come in and contribute. Injury history is
always going to be a flag for any team, but
they're willing to overlook certain things if they know that
they can get that player with you know, in their building,
with Reddy Scott and in the training staff.
Speaker 8 (26:21):
You know, those types of things.
Speaker 9 (26:23):
Are way in part and parcel with a huge emphasis
on these surveys that they do, these you know, personality
assessments that they do that they kind of blend together
in a bespoke evaluation that they've created over time and
that informed the quote unquote make him a RAM process
that found them guys like Pukanakua, Kobe Turner, who's an
(26:46):
undersized defensive tackle, you know, Braiden Fisk who has short arms.
Speaker 8 (26:50):
You know, these guys.
Speaker 9 (26:51):
Who run slow forties but play amazing. You know, it's
just it's it's those types of things that I'm particularly
interested in watching the process on Fold and Jacksonville because
I know that James has a plan for that alongside Jake,
Tammy and Liam and Tony, and I think that this
is going to be where they really identify now no
longer Rams, but Jaguars.
Speaker 7 (27:10):
What it is to be a Jaguar. Absolutely, we're very
excited to kind of see what evolves in the next
couple of weeks. Jordan's thanks so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Thank you for having me some very thought provoking insight
there from Jordan again her podcast which kind of it
looks at the Shanahan Tree, of which McVey is a
part of, of which Liam Cohen is obviously a part of,
and I would check it out. You can get it
wherever you find your podcasts. It's a five part series
and it's very deep and very insightful as well. Thanks
(27:38):
to Kai and Jordan for joining us on jags Am.
When we come back, John and I will wrap it
all up. Jack's Am is brought to you by Fresh
from Florida. It's always in season. Welcome back, Brian and
John here to wrap things up on jags Am. Kai
will be back next week and next week's show, by
(27:59):
the way, we'll be on Wednesday and I will be
in Green Bay, so to be kin in John here.
The La Rams conversation is just fascinating because when you
hear from someone like Jordan Roudrieg, you understand they really
do think differently, asymmetrical, if you will, towards the old
way of thinking in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
Yeah, and it's gonna be interesting to watch them put
this together. I kind of laughed at the owners meetings
when Liam was asked once again about James Gladstone, and
they both at various points during the meeting kind of
laughed and said.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
It wasn't like we were homies at their ams.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
I mean, they weren't sitting in a dorm room at
training camp sort of plotting this act together.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
But they think similarly.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
And I think you're seeing in Gladstone as you talk
to them that they do have an ability to see
the league in a different way. And I think the
ability to adapt to situations as they come is probably
the common element. I think it was Liam refer to
the Rams as sort of the north Star, which to
(29:06):
me means it's not as if they're gonna say, we're
gonna do everything like the Rams did right, but bringing
that ability to adapt and to see the league for
how it is right now. I think that's been the
trademark of the Rams because they have built in different
ways since McVeigh has been there and been able to
adapt and sort of stay over their feet, if you.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Will, which I think is gonna be the interesting thing
to watch here.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
How patient will we have to be to see the
influence of the Rams? And the reason I asked because
I thought it was one of the best questions that
Liam was asked and answered, was how do you balance
wanting to build something entirely different than they've had in Jacksonville,
but at the same time winning in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Yeah, I never quite know how to answer that question.
You know what fans asked, how should how patience would be?
How what should our expectations be? I know from talking
to people, this team feels like it can go win.
Now what win means, you know, seventeen and oh no,
but they can compete. I think they are trying to
(30:06):
take the approach we want to be better in twenty
twenty six than we are in twenty twenty five. They're
trying not to tie themselves into we have to win X,
because it's impossible to know that.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
They feel like they should be able to win now.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
And sort of maintain winning here and then build the draft.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
So that you can get up to an elite level.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
And it's the best way to describe it. What's today's
spectations be? I hope for the best. I wish I
had a better answer.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
One final thought, mock drafts. Was asked a lot about
them at the Poselli Foundation in the last couple of days,
and I try to remind people that mock drafts try
to match need in value, right. They try to find
where the player fits and if a team has a need.
But what they don't understand, and this goes back to
the asymmetrical way of thinking, is what a team the
drag Wars in particular think about a particular player. So
(31:01):
I know everyone's focused on Mason Graham. I mean almost
every mock draft, and you do a mock draft tracker.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
It's probably sixty seventy five percent.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Yeah, at least, but I watched people.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Yeah, not to get wrapped up in that seventy five
percent of mock dra actually say, say Mason Graham I
don't get the feeling that they are that locked in
on any particular player to make that right true, that
makes sense. It might be Mason Graham, but I don't
(31:31):
necessarily think that there are. They haven't cut out pictures
of Mason Graham and put them on their dorm room walls.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
But people look at it.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
People look at the mock drafts and the mock drafts
to be fair, that's all they can to. And so
people were leading with the question, what do you think
of Mason Graham? How does he fit in this skin?
And but I wouldn't, as you just said, I wouldn't
get too too dialed in on that one because these
guys think differently.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
It's hard to it's hard to enunciate it. But people
before for the draft like to talk about positions, and
I get questions all the time. Should they take a
defensive tackle at number five? Should they take a wide receiver?
The way they think? You can't just say a position.
It's got to be what do you think of this guy?
(32:16):
Because it's not the position you're bringing into the building
next week or.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
In two weeks. It's the guy.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
And if the guy like you know, at five, if
you get a great defensive tackle. He's got great ability,
and all they wants to do is sit in his
dorm and play call of duty. Then you haven't got
the right guy. You've got the right position, and in
two years you're looking for.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
A job, you got to take a good player.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
Yeah, it's about greatness at that position. I think they're
going to lean toward player that they think can be.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
A Hall of Famer someday. That's what you're looking.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
For, and at any position right your roster needs that.
And that'll do it for this edition of Jags a
M Don't Forget Huddle Up podcast tomorrow John and Bucky Brooks,
and then on Thursday, I'm sitting in for JP Shafferck
who's out this week Jags Happy Hour, and of course
next week World to Wall coverage of all things Jaguars
and Green Bay and Draft. Thank you again to our
(33:08):
entire production crew for putting this fine show on and
we'll see you next week here on Jags al
Hello, and welcome to jaggs. Am.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I'm Brian Sexton, and today I am the lead singer
of the band and the driver of the Winnebego. Ky
Stevens is out, so I'm filling in in her role,
but he're not. We've got a great show for you
and we'll start as we always do, with big things.
In January when new head coach Liam Cohen signed on,
he's spoke in broad platitudes about his mission about what
(00:49):
he was working towards. But since then last week, specifically
when he met with the players, he now has dialed
it in and he shared it with the media last
week and year three big topics with you on which
Liam Cohen was much more specific, and the first is culture.
It's a big word. We've talked about it a lot,
and the coach was very specific.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Team meeting about rules and regulations, introductions. We had a
team meeting as well about our style of play first
and foremost, really before we dive into the culture, we're
going to dive into the way that we're going to
play out on the grass. We also had a culture
meeting with the entire building which was really cool, where
it was all departments everybody was involved, and it was
(01:33):
just a cool way of getting together, establishing the communication
lines and how we want to do things and operate.
So it is very important at this moment in time
for us.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah, and John, you and I were in that meeting,
and he talked about rules in the way that the
team would approach it. He said he had to protect
the team be on time. But in those two rules,
he set up the expectation level for his team about
their professionalism in the way they would go about their business.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Yeah, I'm curious, Brian, if you're the leader of the band,
am I the roadie who doesn't wash enough before you
gets some of the us I knew something.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
That would be one person that would get it.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Yeah, there'd be something like that for me. Look for
you and I, Brian, and the fans. This is really
not our time of year, right, but is the coach's
time of year and the player's time of year, especially
when there's a regime change. And I say all that
to get to the fact that fans when they hear
(02:30):
words like culture and when they hear buzzwords and all
these things that start with alphabet letters and then they
spell out so players can remember them. Fans roll their eyes,
as I've heard this before, but for these guys, for
trying to establish their tone, trying to establish what's going on,
these weeks are really important and I liked everything I
(02:51):
heard last week from William Cohen. I would be sort
of disingenuous if I tried to tell fans what's different
about it. To me, what's different this time of year
has to come through in not necessarily what said, but
what the players feel from these coaches, especially Liam Cohene
and the leadership group. I think they're learning that they're
(03:14):
going to like.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
What they hear from those guys. To me, that's the
big picture, and we will hear from a couple of
the players. Trevor Lawrence and Foyer Lucan spoke with media
last week. We'll have that coming up later in the show.
Another big word was workload. Let's be honest, John, We
talk about the offseason programing OTAs while they're happening, but
when we get to the preseason or training camp, we
forget all about it because the workload isn't that heavy.
(03:37):
It's about getting some things done. Liam go and focused
a little bit on what he would ask of his
players over these next couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
We're going to throw as much at these guys mentally
in this offseason, as much as we can handle, and
probably more, much more actually, because it's not a physical
time of the year, it's a time of the year
we can stress the mentally. Ultimately, throw that as much
Adam as we can from Minnesota, from Tampa, from LA
(04:09):
from Green Bay, whatever it is, and see what we
can handle. We're not going to know who we're truly
going to be for a while, but it's more so
testing to see how much they can handle and if
maybe some of those concept schemes fundamentals fit our players.
That's a great question, because that's something that we're constantly
working through right now.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Is the staff Shohn.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
With a new coach, new coaching staff, there's obviously a
lot of learning that will go on, but it's not
just the players, it's the coaches learning about these players
based on what coach Cohen just said, how much they
can handle them, what they can throw at them.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Yeah, I tn Brian, as you know, to make fun
of OTAs a little bit or in the off season
program because it's not padded work. Bear in mind, I'm
very well aware that I'm not the one out there
doing the work.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
It's hard.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
They use this time to get in shape. But I
do think anybody who's watched Brian knows that you and
I OTAs we get it.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
But they're not that.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Big of a deal to us because it's not padded work.
But for players, I don't want to dismiss the importance
of these, especially in a new regime, and it's for
these act reasons. You say, these guys have to figure
out what these players can do, what their workload is,
they have to get ready for it. I'm always one
(05:27):
once a coach has been here three or four years,
there are certain players I don't necessarily think have to
have OTAs right now with a new regime, they're critically.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Important and our final big thing, John. I was at
the Bisselli Foundation events this weekend, lots of Draguars supporters
and fans. They wanted to talk about free agency, in particular,
they want to talk about the draft, which.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Is coming up in nine days.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
But I always brought it back to this and it's
our third big thing, and it is Trevor the quarterback
is central to Liam Cohen and his staff getting this
job done. Putting this team on the right track to
win long term. And Liam lash we talked a little
bit about his efforts so far with the Jaguars franchise quarterback.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
We are trying to create black and white lines when
it comes to footwork in ways so that understanding that
the game is played in the gray. There's so much
that occurs on a play. If you can have core
fundamentals in footwork that you believe in and that you
trust in those times of crisis, you have something to
(06:29):
actually fall back on and play with a quieted mind.
And so this is a great opportunity now that he
is a little limited from a throwing standpoint, that we
can dive into the footwork. He can dive into it
on his own time and really work at this thing.
So he's committed to it. It's something that we feel
strongly about that can help him continue to get better
(06:52):
and ultimately on Sundays, we hope that shows up.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
John.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
I know the storyline coming out of that media news
conference last week was the footwork, and obviously people want
to focus on the fundamentals. To me, it was the
quieted mind. It's finding a way to help Trevor relax
and be his best.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
Yeah, And as you said at the top, all the
moves they've made, even the draft, it's all going to
circle back to how much they can get this running
game going and how much more they can get out
of Trevor.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
If he ascends, if he gets.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Back to where he was playing in late in twenty two,
then there can be dramatic improvement for this team. There was,
as you might expect in the ozone, a lot of
oh my goodness, what's wrong with this footwork?
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Why hadn't this been fixed?
Speaker 4 (07:36):
To me, that is more about getting his footwork timed
with this offense. So I don't think it's that unusual.
And the reason that you want to do that from
what Liam Cohen and Trevor both said, You're trying to
get the footwork right so you can get that quieted mind,
so you can know what you're doing with your feet
(07:57):
and let your feet and the footwork and the time
of these things guides you in your decision making.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
As I think Liam said, once.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
It's crazy out there, there's a lot of stuff being
thrown at quarterbacks on every play. The more they can
have muscle memory, meaning footwork guiding them to their decisions
and their reeds. Then the easier it is when chaos starts.
So I think you're right. I think that's really the
takeaway from it. Although people obviously focused on.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
The footwork element.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And I loved the fact that we talked about black
and white and rules and strategies and how everything works,
but that the game isn't black and white, it's played
in the gray. That was a takeaway and I thought
it was very insightful as to how this coach is
working with his staff to get things righted here in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
That does it for big things.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
When we come back, we'll hear from Trevor Lloyance and
Foyer Lucon at the end of the first week of
the off season program. Will hear from them next on
jags Am. Welcome back to jags Am. Brian and John
with you here on a Tuesday. We appreciate you joining
us nine days out from the NFL Draft, and we'll
(09:06):
have plenty of conversation about that coming up. But John,
let's go back to what we were talking about. Last
week was the first week for the players and the coaches,
not just to be in the building and you know
it's not padded stuff, but to get to know each
other because everything had been so limited since the coach
was hired and brought his staff on board.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, part of my stick. You know, I got some shit.
I do know, man is OTAs. What do they matter?
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Coaches overplay them. And that's more joking than it is anything, because.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I just like to joke that I don't like being
out there in the sun.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
There is a after a while once players have been
in a scheme. I do think there is a little
bit of a diminishing returns for some players when they're
here in their third year under a guy. But for
trying to establish a culture, when else are you going
to do it? Because there's not time anymore. Training camp
is so short without that much padded work, and you know,
(09:57):
you can say what you want about, well, it's not pads.
I happen to walk by with them doing some on
the field work at one point and heard what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
I'm not going to do it.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
So yeah, they are working and this is critical time
and it is you know what we're seeing here too.
It's a new strength and conditioning staff and the strength
and conditioning staff. If you think about these guys' work day,
their schedule, they're with these guys more than they are
their position coaches. So the strength and conditioning staff gets
a pretty quick idea of who's dedicated, who's there all
(10:33):
the time. So I'm sure, I'm sure Liam Cohen is
having conversations with the strength guys.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Hey, hey, what are these guys about? What makes them tick?
But it's interesting.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
One more thing on the culture, and I'm big on
it because I didn't sense any of it last year,
and I know there are people that argue with me
that there was some, but obviously at four and thirteen
there wasn't much. It's not just the culture to the players.
But you know, Liam has got a new staff together
and they're having to figure it out from their own
perspects of how they're going to do it. They can
talk about it theoretically in the time that the players
(11:04):
aren't here, but when the players return, well, now you're
implementing that culture. You're implementing all of the things the
way that the coach wants to accomplish the mission on
a daily basis with these players. So it's important time
for both the coaches and the players.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Well, sometimes other situations in life apply to football.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
How do you build culture?
Speaker 4 (11:23):
If you're the defensive staff, how do you build culture
with Traylon Walker and Josh heinz Allen if they're not there,
meaning it's in meetings, as you pass guys in the hallway,
it's having a joke with them as you go by
them after they've lifted all of those things. There's no
(11:46):
way to build that kind of stuff without human interaction,
and furthermore, without the coaches showing these players what they're
all about. You've been around this long enough to know.
I don't know that it's fir first impressions me and everything,
but players belief in the coaches. That was one of
Liam's points last week is belief in this thing. It's
(12:09):
a very nebulous, hard thing to grasp. But unless players
believe coaches can't do anything, the belief starts to get built. Now,
where the players look at these guys is on the
podium and when they're in rooms with them and say,
can I be around this guy? Can I believe in
what this guy is selling? That's part of what makes
(12:32):
this time so critical.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Right, let's hear from a couple of the players on
what they think so far. We'll start with the quarterback
Trevor Lawrence, who talked a bit about the footwork issue
that we just heard from the coach.
Speaker 5 (12:43):
More than any system I've ever learned, it's structured and
based on that, and it's so everything's tied exactly to
all right, this route is on this timing, so then
your next progression is off of this footwork, off this timing,
so it all ties in perfect. You don't have multiple
routes declaring at the same time, which is art as
a quarterback because then you're sitting back there and you
got to make a decision before really the guys open
(13:06):
or covered, you know. So I think they've done a
really good job with the system of really thinking through
how does it tie into quarterbacks feet And that's what
we've been talking about. And it takes some work and
you know, flipping my stands, just some little things like
that that are small that many people wouldn't notice, but
it is. I have so many banked reps of the
other way. I got to just get all these on
my own and work them. So once camp comes around,
(13:26):
I'm ready to go.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
John Trevor, for not having much time at this point
in the system, had obviously paid attention to what they
did in Tampa with Baker Mayfield and understood the basic
concepts of what footwork and timing would do for them
in this offense. Yeah, I've covered a lot of availabilities.
As you know, it's mainly what we do during the week.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
I've covered Trevor for a while, so after a while
you start figuring out, Okay, most of availabilities. They're just
saying things that could apply to any situation because they're
trying to get through the pressor But in this case,
I thought he said some interesting things about this offense.
He did emphasize at one point it's not easy to learn,
and that speaks to what he's going to be going
(14:08):
through and what his teammates are going to be going through.
And that's fine. It's his third offense in five NFL seasons.
But he also said at one point that he really
likes what they're doing. He believes in the concepts. So
if you think about it, when were you best in school?
I was never good in school, But when your best
is when you know what you're studying for, you can
come out on the other end and you know it's
(14:29):
going to benefit you. It certainly sounds like he believes
in this. He believes in the concepts, and I think.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
We go back to the footwork stuff.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
The footwork stuff, once you learn it, it's designed to
make it easy. It's designed to be able to perform
in the gray area because they're making black and white rules.
So you can certainly see Trevor who has to be
going through some on the inside this offseason. At some point,
I've got to get it going. I've got to be
what I believe I can be. I would think looking
(15:01):
at this and seeing the success that Mayfield has, he's saying,
I can latch onto this.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
This can be my rope out to where I want
to be. Let's stay with the Mayfield theme for just
a moment. Coming off of his best year, the one
year under Liam Cohen in Tampa, forty one touchdowns, the
running game was strong, and Trevor was asked about his
relationship his knowledge of Mayfield.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
I haven't yet, you know, I know Baker. I wouldn't say, well,
but we're buddies and every time I see him, you know,
we try to catch up talk. I really got a
lot of respect for him. I haven't got a chance
to yet, but I need to. I've heard through other
people that I've talked to, Baker had different things throughout
the offseason that he's just says great things about him
and how much he helped him, and said I'm gonna
(15:43):
love playing for him. So I've kind of heard that
through I guess mutual friends and stuff.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
All right, let's turn it to the defensive side, and
here from Foyer Aluit cunning who talked a little bit
about last season and why things went south and what
it means now with a new coaching staff in Jackson, and.
Speaker 6 (16:01):
We didn't win last year, so I think whatever changes
that are coming are accepted because obviously we didn't play
up to the stand that we needed. So whatever was
going on, you know, if it's if it's we can't
really promise more wins, but obviously we needed maybe a
new way to attack the season, a new way to
attack the off seasons and stuff. So I think everybody's
very accepting of everything new that's in store for us.
(16:24):
You know that that equates to more wins.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
The linebacker wants to win more and he is open
to whatever it takes to get there.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
Yeah, And I thought that was clearly the most interesting
thing he had to say. Look, The reality is they
put these guys in the podium because they have to
last week, and they're at the time they're two or
three days into getting to know these guys. So for Foyer,
if for anybody really to stand up there and.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Say, hey, I love these guys, I'm all in. They're
still learning them.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
So I thought Foyer's comments were very insightful and very professional.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Hey, we were four and thirteen last year. We didn't
win enough. There's gonna be chain, So these are the
guys that come in.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
We're gonna give this a chance. We like what we're hearing.
He's a very intelligent guy who tries to say what's
really on his mind during these things, and I think
he was very honest, of very anxious to see what
Anthony Campanili and the staff is saying, likes it and
is ready.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
To embrace it.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
I think he'll be a lot better on it in
training camp when everybody understands what everybody's all about. They're
still on their first week of school and still trying
to get to know their teachers. I liked what I
heard last week, and I think it's gonna be fascinating
to watch all.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Right, when we come back on drags AM more perspective,
this time on the Jaguars from the Los Angeles Rams view,
or at least someone.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Who covers them.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Kyle Stevens sat down with Jordan rod Riek, who covers
the Rams for The Athletic, and we'll bring you that
conversation after this am. Move the freight. Move the freight.
Magellan voted the coolest workspace in Jacksonville, invites you to
(18:13):
check them out and see if you can help them
move the freight at magellan dot com. All right, Brian
to John with you back here on Jags a M
and Kay Stevens, who is out last week, found time
to connect with someone who covers the Rams on a
daily basis for The Athletic. Jordan Rodrigo has an excellent
(18:33):
podcast called The play Callers. You should check that out.
Check out Kay's conversation first.
Speaker 7 (18:38):
All right, I'm here now with the Athletics senior writer
covering the LA Rams, Jordan rodrig Thank you so much
for joining us. I know you're very well versed with
James Gladstone and kind of how the Rams do things,
so I really wanted to pick your brain on this.
Speaker 8 (18:49):
A little bit. Thank you so much for having me.
How is La Rams East good?
Speaker 7 (18:53):
It's going really well. We love the vibe in the building.
It's very I mean obviously beach towns and whatnot, but yes,
we're loving this.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
It's very lighthearted.
Speaker 7 (19:01):
The change was immediate. Obviously you've been around James a lot,
so you know the deal, but just the whole regime
change has been really great here, so it's kind of exciting.
And now that we're getting into the draft time, which
is obviously the front office's favorite time of year, we're
kind of learning a little bit more about him. But
what we heard from the interview process was when James
Gladstone came in, just his interview as a whole, his
(19:21):
vision was really what sold them because we had been
hearing some other names maybe as favorites going in, but
James really came in out of not out of nowhere,
but just kind of really won them over with what
he had to say. So with your time working with him,
were you surprised by that at all or were you
kind of Yeah, of course, anyone that would talk to
him would probably see it that way.
Speaker 9 (19:39):
You know, when I saw his name included on the list,
first of all, I was like.
Speaker 8 (19:43):
Oh, how did Less Snead let that happen?
Speaker 9 (19:45):
Because he has been so behind the scenes for so
many years in LA. But to know James and to
have worked with them as closely as I did last
year where I was interred with their draft and scouting department,
is to not.
Speaker 8 (19:59):
Be surprised by this at all.
Speaker 9 (20:01):
The way that he not only has a vision and
a very meticulous and granular plan for every operation and
every part of the talent identification, scouting and draft process,
the talent acquisition process, part of the pro personnel department
as well, and the way more so, the way he
can explain it. It was just to me, I called
(20:21):
Less and I was like, all right, good luck keeping
this guy now, you know, And it just it was
no surprise, I think to anyone who's ever worked with him,
that he quickly dominated this interview and became the guy
because he just can explain a vision and then goes
and creates that vision, as he did in Los Angeles
when they overhauled their draft department two and twenty twenty three.
Speaker 7 (20:43):
Absolutely, we've seen that already, even just with free agency,
you know, making cap space, letting go of some veterans,
some faces that we were familiar with around here, but
going to the draft, it's exciting for us to kind
of see where this might end up. Obviously, outside looking in,
we've seen what the RAMS have done the last couple
of years.
Speaker 8 (21:00):
Was James's role in all of that?
Speaker 7 (21:01):
Because the way you guys have been drafting last couple
of years, the RAMS have been really successful.
Speaker 9 (21:06):
Yeah, well, James was sort of moved into this role
to help basically overhaul the entire operation of not just
the scouting processes and keeping what worked, but also modernizing
and making things a little bit more progressive in other ways,
changing some of the strategy with which they approached the draft,
blending certain analytics programming that they were creating, some of
(21:29):
which they created from scratch.
Speaker 8 (21:30):
So Jake Temmy joining the organization, I.
Speaker 9 (21:32):
Think is also quietly a huge and significant move for
the Jaguars some of the ways that they attacked the
draft and strategized treating it as if it's a game
that they're play calling in less so sort of a
luck of the draw type of thing. And I think
that this is going to be really interesting because you're
going to start to see at least some of those
(21:52):
probably not all until next off season, but at least
some of those practices and processes take place immediately with
strategy that they use. I know he's going to be
using a call sheet like Lesneed does, like as a
play callerwood that you see on the sidelines, like Liam
cohenwell when he calls games. You know he's going to
use a lot of these different methods that the RAMS
(22:14):
also had in place. But knowing James, he's also going
to put his own twist and spin on things. And
also knowing James, he's a listener, so he's not going
to just come in and want to do things only
his way, only the RAMS way. He's going to listen
to what actually works and what has been working and
clicking with the scouting department and Talent ID process that's
already in place, and also making sure that those people
(22:37):
feel comfortable with this transition and that they feel heard
that those methods are also being deployed as well as
sort of this hybrid older regime newer regime draft that's
about to happen.
Speaker 7 (22:48):
Sure, because we talk a lot about the upper leadership
obviously with Tony Bisselli coming in as EVP and then
Liam Cohen as the new coach, but the scouting department
is still the past scouting department other than a couple
of pieces that have been added. So a lot of
collaboration to see there as to what they're exactly going
to do. But they do have ten picks as of
this point. For those aren't four Six of them are
in the first couple of rounds of the draft. So
(23:09):
to kind of hear those numbers, I mean with the Rams,
obviously it's not necessarily going to be the exact same
way that he's.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Done it before.
Speaker 7 (23:14):
But would anything surprise you with how he functions or
is it kind of just be prepared for anything with him?
Speaker 8 (23:20):
No, Yeah, you've nailed it.
Speaker 9 (23:22):
Because one thing I've learned over the last several years,
particularly covering this Los Angeles Rams team and just how
differently they do things relative to other teams across the league, is.
Speaker 8 (23:33):
You go in expecting literally anything.
Speaker 9 (23:35):
I'd say, trading up obviously in this case, you know,
would they pick so high in the first round anyway,
But like trading up has always been the least likely scenario.
Speaker 8 (23:43):
With this team.
Speaker 9 (23:44):
But I recall, you know, I did an interview with
James and Greg Rosenthal for NFL daily at the combine
and James slipped in this little oh, we have ten
picks for now.
Speaker 8 (23:52):
Yeah, that's a total.
Speaker 9 (23:53):
That totally got my trigger going and te okay, yeah,
all right. With the Rams had fourteen picks when they
were totally building their roster in twenty twenty three and
replacing some of those patch and go older, cheaper veterans
on those contracts as they went. Bringing in the large
free agency class sent a signal to me that they're
going to try to over time.
Speaker 8 (24:16):
Take those spots and fill them with.
Speaker 9 (24:18):
Draft picks that they're going to draft and develop, but
also need those veterans to help the young kids grow right,
and also need those veterans to help maintain the viability
of the roster while those players are developing. So I
would not be surprised to see James go get as
many picks as he possibly can. And the Rams found
five starters in that first class and then five in
the ten draft pick class the next season, so I
(24:40):
would not be surprised.
Speaker 8 (24:41):
To see him go volume on this.
Speaker 7 (24:43):
We've heard a lot about obviously draft and develop, but
you know, giving them a chance as rookies to be
contributors right off the bat right, So picking at five
at least for us what we've been discussing, there's a
lot of positions they could go with. I always say
anything besides quarterback, I wouldn't be surprised whatsoever. So what
are some things that you know James really values in
terms of when looking at draft picks. Not necessarily always
need of the team, but what's something he values in
(25:04):
the players that he evaluates.
Speaker 9 (25:07):
Yeah, I will be interested to see how this develops
the in your building and in their building, because I
certainly got a first hand look of how this developed
in Los Angeles under James, where they the Rams have
found a way to and I don't want to say quantified,
because I think that's reductive of what it actually is,
but to articulate like how a person, a human being
(25:28):
will fit not just within their building, but also within
Sean mcvay's offense.
Speaker 8 (25:33):
And I know Liam is incredibly drawn to that and
also has firsthand experience with that. And that takes an
extremely high level of communication between the coaching.
Speaker 9 (25:42):
Staff and the front office, which I know is a
priority for the three people in leadership in Tony, James
and Liam, and I think that that's what is going
to really inform like the type of person that they
decide to bring in. The Rams started throwing out some
of the I guess stereotypical like traits based analyses. You know,
(26:04):
they don't really care about arm length if the player
could play. Braiden Fisk is an example of that. They
don't really care about the age of the player if
the player can come in and contribute. Injury history is
always going to be a flag for any team, but
they're willing to overlook certain things if they know that
they can get that player with you know, in their building,
with Reddy Scott and in the training staff.
Speaker 8 (26:21):
You know, those types of things.
Speaker 9 (26:23):
Are way in part and parcel with a huge emphasis
on these surveys that they do, these you know, personality
assessments that they do that they kind of blend together
in a bespoke evaluation that they've created over time and
that informed the quote unquote make him a RAM process
that found them guys like Pukanakua, Kobe Turner, who's an
(26:46):
undersized defensive tackle, you know, Braiden Fisk who has short arms.
Speaker 8 (26:50):
You know, these guys.
Speaker 9 (26:51):
Who run slow forties but play amazing. You know, it's
just it's it's those types of things that I'm particularly
interested in watching the process on Fold and Jacksonville because
I know that James has a plan for that alongside Jake,
Tammy and Liam and Tony, and I think that this
is going to be where they really identify now no
longer Rams, but Jaguars.
Speaker 7 (27:10):
What it is to be a Jaguar. Absolutely, we're very
excited to kind of see what evolves in the next
couple of weeks. Jordan's thanks so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Thank you for having me some very thought provoking insight
there from Jordan again her podcast which kind of it
looks at the Shanahan Tree, of which McVey is a
part of, of which Liam Cohen is obviously a part of,
and I would check it out. You can get it
wherever you find your podcasts. It's a five part series
and it's very deep and very insightful as well. Thanks
(27:38):
to Kai and Jordan for joining us on jags Am.
When we come back, John and I will wrap it
all up. Jack's Am is brought to you by Fresh
from Florida. It's always in season. Welcome back, Brian and
John here to wrap things up on jags Am. Kai
will be back next week and next week's show, by
(27:59):
the way, we'll be on Wednesday and I will be
in Green Bay, so to be kin in John here.
The La Rams conversation is just fascinating because when you
hear from someone like Jordan Roudrieg, you understand they really
do think differently, asymmetrical, if you will, towards the old
way of thinking in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
Yeah, and it's gonna be interesting to watch them put
this together. I kind of laughed at the owners meetings
when Liam was asked once again about James Gladstone, and
they both at various points during the meeting kind of
laughed and said.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
It wasn't like we were homies at their ams.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
I mean, they weren't sitting in a dorm room at
training camp sort of plotting this act together.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
But they think similarly.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
And I think you're seeing in Gladstone as you talk
to them that they do have an ability to see
the league in a different way. And I think the
ability to adapt to situations as they come is probably
the common element. I think it was Liam refer to
the Rams as sort of the north Star, which to
(29:06):
me means it's not as if they're gonna say, we're
gonna do everything like the Rams did right, but bringing
that ability to adapt and to see the league for
how it is right now. I think that's been the
trademark of the Rams because they have built in different
ways since McVeigh has been there and been able to
adapt and sort of stay over their feet, if you.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Will, which I think is gonna be the interesting thing
to watch here.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
How patient will we have to be to see the
influence of the Rams? And the reason I asked because
I thought it was one of the best questions that
Liam was asked and answered, was how do you balance
wanting to build something entirely different than they've had in Jacksonville,
but at the same time winning in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Yeah, I never quite know how to answer that question.
You know what fans asked, how should how patience would be?
How what should our expectations be? I know from talking
to people, this team feels like it can go win.
Now what win means, you know, seventeen and oh no,
but they can compete. I think they are trying to
(30:06):
take the approach we want to be better in twenty
twenty six than we are in twenty twenty five. They're
trying not to tie themselves into we have to win X,
because it's impossible to know that.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
They feel like they should be able to win now.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
And sort of maintain winning here and then build the draft.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
So that you can get up to an elite level.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
And it's the best way to describe it. What's today's
spectations be? I hope for the best. I wish I
had a better answer.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
One final thought, mock drafts. Was asked a lot about
them at the Poselli Foundation in the last couple of days,
and I try to remind people that mock drafts try
to match need in value, right. They try to find
where the player fits and if a team has a need.
But what they don't understand, and this goes back to
the asymmetrical way of thinking, is what a team the
drag Wars in particular think about a particular player. So
(31:01):
I know everyone's focused on Mason Graham. I mean almost
every mock draft, and you do a mock draft tracker.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
It's probably sixty seventy five percent.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Yeah, at least, but I watched people.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Yeah, not to get wrapped up in that seventy five
percent of mock dra actually say, say Mason Graham I
don't get the feeling that they are that locked in
on any particular player to make that right true, that
makes sense. It might be Mason Graham, but I don't
(31:31):
necessarily think that there are. They haven't cut out pictures
of Mason Graham and put them on their dorm room walls.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
But people look at it.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
People look at the mock drafts and the mock drafts
to be fair, that's all they can to. And so
people were leading with the question, what do you think
of Mason Graham? How does he fit in this skin?
And but I wouldn't, as you just said, I wouldn't
get too too dialed in on that one because these
guys think differently.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
It's hard to it's hard to enunciate it. But people
before for the draft like to talk about positions, and
I get questions all the time. Should they take a
defensive tackle at number five? Should they take a wide receiver?
The way they think? You can't just say a position.
It's got to be what do you think of this guy?
(32:16):
Because it's not the position you're bringing into the building
next week or.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
In two weeks. It's the guy.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
And if the guy like you know, at five, if
you get a great defensive tackle. He's got great ability,
and all they wants to do is sit in his
dorm and play call of duty. Then you haven't got
the right guy. You've got the right position, and in
two years you're looking for.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
A job, you got to take a good player.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
Yeah, it's about greatness at that position. I think they're
going to lean toward player that they think can be.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
A Hall of Famer someday. That's what you're looking.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
For, and at any position right your roster needs that.
And that'll do it for this edition of Jags a
M Don't Forget Huddle Up podcast tomorrow John and Bucky Brooks,
and then on Thursday, I'm sitting in for JP Shafferck
who's out this week Jags Happy Hour, and of course
next week World to Wall coverage of all things Jaguars
and Green Bay and Draft. Thank you again to our
(33:08):
entire production crew for putting this fine show on and
we'll see you next week here on Jags al
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