Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Should the Jacksonville Jaguars Fear Anthony Richardson & Co.?

Episode Date: July 6, 2023

The reigning AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars are projected to win the division once again. However, should the Indianapolis Colts and a rising, young division put any fear in the hearts of the champs? Tony Wiggins of Locked On Jaguars joins to kick off our AFC South preview.Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOColts?sid=YouTube📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFLFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's been a while since the Jaguars were the favorites in the AFC South, but today we're going to talk about the division's new bullies on the block. Let's get to it. You are locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, what's up everyone? Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. I am Jake Arthur, and joining us today is Tony Wiggins, who covers the Jaguars for Locked On Jaguars.

One of the OGs, man. Do it better than anybody out there. I appreciate that, man. Thank you, man. You are the official uncle of the Locked On Podcast Network. That's for sure. I like that. I'll be big on it. That's cool. OG. I'll be all of that stuff. On Podcast Network. I like that. I'll be big on it.

That's cool. OG. I'll be all of that stuff. That's good. I love it. I'm glad to talk to you today because last season when we did these collabs, it was all Zach. And today the switch is flipped.

It's you and me today. So we're going to talk about, you know, another offseason for the Jags where they're the defending division champions. You know how you feel about their offseason. Have they done enough to repeat? Kind of look back at Jags and Colts a little bit from last season and look ahead to their couple matchups in this upcoming season. And then we'll wrap it up kind of looking at what we think is going to happen

with the division in 2023. Because, my friend, you called it last year. We did our AFC South preview show with Ross my friend you called it last year we we did our afc south preview show with ross and you called it you it didn't even felt like you were being a homer but you said the jaguars that they could take it we all laughed said whatever man but they they did it man and uh kudos to you you saw it coming yeah and i gotta remind everybody too they were two and seven at one point and i got hammered for that in our little group. You know what I'm saying?

And then when they made their run, you know, the old quote was Tony Wiggins, the Jaguars going to win a division. And I said, you damn right. You know what I'm saying? But got away. Yeah. And to be honest, and I'm being really truthful, I'm not being sarcastic here. When I give predictions like that, i'm not being sarcastic here when i give predictions like that i'm not being a homer i try to really separate myself from the team i see i tell people

all the time in college i'm a fan of florida state university i didn't go to the school right in the nfl i'm a fan of jacksonville the city therefore, I have to be a fan of the Jaguars. I've been in media now for almost 20 years, so a little bit over 20 years. And it's hard to marry yourself to something that you constantly have to criticize. So I really kind of separate myself from Tony Wiggins, the little boy who was eight years old. We didn't have a team at that time. I was rooting for the team in Washington because that was my second home. But so I really do separate myself and I try to not be a homer.

But of course, anytime you say something that where you're rooting for your own team, people accuse you of being that. Yeah, no, you got to dig in. I'm in the same boat. I'm from the central Indiana area and I grew up with Peyton Manning and everything. But, you know, we try to be as hard on them as we are, you know, praise them when they do well. boat. I'm from the central Indiana area and I grew up with Peyton Manning and everything, but you know, we try to be as hard on them as we are, you know, praise them when they do well, but it's kind of a fine line to walk. But yeah, today we're going to talk about your Jaguars. You know, they finished the season nine and eight, make it to the playoffs. They win the AFC South wildcard matchup

against the Chargers. Really entertaining game. Had Joey Bosa blowing his top after that one. So how was that? I mean, not only for them to get back to the playoffs after some really low moments, they were fresh off the Urban Meyer thing, and to not only make the playoffs, but to actually win a game inside of it. So folks that actually watched that game and watched Trevor Lawrence in the first half really looked like a guy that didn't belong and looked like a guy who he looked like James Winston to be honest with you you see the talent but you could you could also see him pressing and trying to do too much he was basically trying to put the city on his back the interesting part of that is if you look back back a week earlier when they had to actually play the Titans for the division title, he had a bad game that game.

He wasn't wasn't sharp. You know, the defense basically won that game for them. So the thing is, is his poor game in week 17 when they won a division carried over into the playoffs. And at some point, Doug Peterson did what Doug Peterson does at halftime. I heard, I wasn't in there, but I heard what he said was, we got to score every time we touch the ball and we can't let them get a touchdown. So they were up 27 to 7. The Jaguars scored every time they had the ball in the second half and the Chargers got two field goals.

They mastered getting these guys to calm down. They were down 17 to nothing to the Raiders and they came back to beat them. They were down by 17 points to Dallas, 27 to 10 in the third quarter and they came back to beat them. So what they did in the playoffs, folks around here had seen before,

but had they not done it before the playoffs, folks around here had seen before, but had they not done it before the playoffs, they probably would have fallen short. Yeah, this early era of the Jaguars team, especially Trevor Lawrence, it reminds me so much of Andrew Luck and how they started building those things up. Those teams that learn how to overcome adversity and win and make those big comebacks during the regular season, they're already tested by the time you get to the playoffs. I'm rooting for you guys in that regard because it's exciting to see. And a lot of people were already kind of writing Trevor Lawrence off after that first season. But he seems like the truth, man. And it's really good that he can have those bad games, especially so late in the season. The team overcomes it, you know, that first half, really ugly in the playoffs.

They come back and win it. But, you know, you kind of parlay that momentum into the offseason. You're looking at a big kind of blue-chip piece in wide receiver Calvin Ridley that comes in. You lost some pieces there. You know, Jawan Taylor, Shaquille Griffin was a cut, Arden Key. Overall, how did you feel about their offseason? Do you like it still moving forward for them to carry that momentum? At the start of free agency, I thought they were too frugal.

I thought that they were not spending money. And, you know, it was intentional, right? They're like, okay, okay no we like our guys and I always reminded myself that they were nine and eight they were nine and eight and then they you know of course they were two and seven and then they ended up nine and eight and eventually ten and nine on the entire season it's not like you're gonna bring back a 13 and 14 you know what I mean so I was just thinking like okay just add I don't mean go out and do what they did two years ago and they spent a boatload of money. Well, three years ago and they spent a boatload of money. And then last year they did too. I just meant one guy,

just go get one impact player. I didn't necessarily like them franchise tagging Evan Ingram and letting Jawan Taylor go. I thought it was the other way around. And you just try to negotiate with Evan Ingram and bring them back. It's not what they did. And I got to respect what they did because it seems like everything that they've done since Urban was fired, they've hit on a lot of stuff here. And you have to give people the benefit of the doubt. And I always remember this as just the person that covers the team, even though I'm close

to it, credentials, hanging on the sideline and all of that, I'm not in that locker room. And I'm not in the mind of Doug Peterson, and I'm not in the mind of Trent Baalke. I'm not privy to those meetings that they have with their assistant coaches and their scouting department. So we never know on the media side what is in development behind the guys that they already have and the progress that they expect people who didn't make significant contributions we don't know what they anticipate that those guys are going to make and we see it every single year where all of a sudden the dude that's been on the roster comes up and he gets in year three and all of a sudden the light comes on well they know that before it happens we don't So I'm thinking and hoping that maybe what happens with them is they have some guys that

are in development. And because of the addition of guys like Calvin Ridley, what happens is everybody goes down a notch. Christian Kirk played like a number one. He can definitely play like a number two if Ridley is number one. And now you think Travis Etn had some openings last year he's really going to have openings now because calvin really can take the top off everything and evan ingram is going to have some cleared out routes down the seam and in the shallow crosses so

things should really open up more than they were last year for trevor lawrence now that you have really who in my opinion uh before his suspension and then that foot injury he had, he was borderline all pro. If he wasn't an all pro, he was right there with 1300 yards. Now, he's a real stud. That's an exciting move to add to an offense that does have a bona fide quarterback like Trevor Lawrence. That's a really exciting move.

Up next, we're going to look at how some of those moves might play into these matchups next year with the Colts. But first, we're going to bring you a word from our friends over at FanDuel. Everybody, go take your first swing at betting on the MLB on FanDuel and get 10 times your first bet amount in bonus bets up to $200. That's right. Just bet $20 and you'll land $200 in bonus bets, win or lose. That's $200 that you can spend betting on everything from the money line to the over-under, home runs, strikeouts, whatever you think. All on an app that's safe, secure, and super easy to use. Because let's face it, if you're going to make the investment into some of these bets, you want the money back as soon as possible. Some of these sites, it's like jumping through red tape to get your money back.

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themed episode recently this week, looking at some fireworks and some explosive players that the Colts have going into this year. And Tony's also kicking off a series where we're going to talk to other hosts around the AFC South, because hopefully it's not the doormat division for very much longer. You got a team like the jaguars that can go you know all the way up the colts and texans are looking up uh so we'll see how it goes i think the division will be fine you know just to piggyback on what you just said they got young quarterbacks young quarterbacks and they all turn out or if they're if they're at the very least a little bit higher than what we suspect their floor is

and they're handled correctly, like Trevor wasn't handled correctly his first year, then I think eventually – I used to call the AFC South the Mountain West of the NFL, but I don't believe that is the case now because you've had some teams over the last few years or the last four or five years really, really make some strong playoff runs, but just fall a little bit short. So I really do believe with Trevor and with the other young quarterbacks that there's a shot that this division can not be – I don't think they're the worst division in the league.

I think there's two divisions worse. Yeah, not anymore. It is really crazy how three of those top four quarterbacks all landed in this division too. We'll get to that shortly. One thing I'm eager to hear from you is around here in Indy playing in Jacksonville, it's a boogeyman game. It's been forever since they won there. I think it was 2013 or something was the last time they won down there. It kind of parlays into the Colts

that also haven't won a week one season opener in like over 10 years either. And, you know, a lot of times those all mesh early in the season. So is that something that, from a Jaguars perspective, you guys know that coming in, like the Colts aren't winning this coming in here. Is that a thing down there in Jacksonville too? They think they're going to beat Indy every time Indy comes in here. Yeah, because when they were bad, they beat Indy.

We kept Indy from going to the playoffs a couple years back. And Gardner Minshew beat Indy. And he's up there now, obviously, you know, up there with Anthony Richardson. But the thing is, that's the team that I think we're most likely to split with every year. It seems like our fate when we go up there isn't very good when we go to Indy. And then when Indy comes down here, they're not very good. And a lot of times when the team that loses that game is actually the favorite Jacksonville has had some pretty decent teams and have gone up there and stunk it up.

And the same thing has happened when, when you guys come here. So the Jaguar fans are always for the AFC South. Those games are always, no matter how bad the teams are, like the Houston game was a very good game last year. They still remember the rivalries. They still hold on to Edger and James and Peyton Manning versus Mark Brunel and Fred Taylor. They still remember those things. And it's always a very, very exciting game.

And then, to be honest, something that has gone on here for a long time is it's not because Jacksonville fans don't like going to the games because they always buy tickets. It's just that this is always a destination place for people to come in the fall and winter whenever they're freezing their butt off up north somewhere. Everybody wants to come to Florida for an October or November game when it's still 90 degrees outside. So, you know, it's a nice little vacation. So we get a lot of big crowds from visiting teams and the secondary market for tickets goes crazy. But I really, really do think this is one of those things where I can't just, no matter how bad the Colts are, I can't just automatically say we're going to beat them twice. I can't because they almost never do. Yeah. And of course it was a split last year, of course, in Jacksonville, 24 to zero.

I can't tell you how much preparation from an Indy side was put into that matchup. Like their whole off season was based on not losing in week one and not stinking it up in Jacksonville. And they look just as bad, if not worse as they did the year before. But then of course, when Jacksonville came up to Indy, the Colts won 34 to 27. So like you said, I remember that 2018 game when the Colts were humming, Andrew Luck was back. He was with Frank Reich and it was six to three in Jacksonville.

I think like, yeah, couldn't could barely buy a point, but so it's going to be another early season matchup this year. It's week one and Indy and then week six at Jacksonville. So this is interesting. How are you guys feeling about the Colts this year? Of course, you know when they go down there, it's probably going to go in your favor, but did the Colts put any fear in you at all? Is there a pretty big X factor that I think you're probably going to get to?

Sure. The fear is they turn around and hand the ball off to Jonathan Taylor 30 times, and he churns out four yards of carry, and they wear the defense down. That's always a big fear. And then they have guys on defense that can actually make plays. Leonard, 53, and that's still his last name, isn't it? Darius. Did he change his name? Yeah, it's Shaquille Leonard now.

Shaquille, okay. Okay, now with Buckner, there are people, and last year they had Ngakwe, they were having this year, but they still have done some things with their pass rush. The thing that scares you is the unknown at quarterback, whether it's Anthony Richardson with his legs, that doesn't scare me as much in year one, because I think watching him up close,

I think that there's some guys are better in the NBA. I'm sorry. In the NFL that they are in college, Josh Allen is one of them, but it still might take a minute. You know what I mean? It still might take a minute, but Brian Johnson being a quarterback coach on an offensive coordinator,

scares the hell out of me. You know, no, he's in Philly, but he has said he co-signed for Anthony Richardson. This includes Jalen Hurts and everybody.

He said, this is the best quarterback I ever coached. For him to say that, the upside for Anthony Richardson is extremely high. I'm very good friends with his private quarterback coach here at Jacksonville. The unknown is extremely high. I'm a very good friend with his private quarterback coach here at Jacksonville. the unknown.

I would rather see Anthony Richardson roll out there than see Gardner Minshew because Minshew, while he does have his quirks and he does have a ceiling and he does have some shortcomings, he's a gamer. He is a gamer, man. He will try to figure it out and he'll do little things. He'll scramble.

He'll do things out of the pocket, and that's what I really don't want to see the first week. I'd rather see the rookie than see Gardner Minshew. Yeah, that's why I think it – I mean, if Richardson's not the starter right away, I think it's going to be fine because all the times I've seen Minshew, he will take what the defense gives you, but he's got a little aggressiveness in him too. He'll go downfield.

And I remember that very first start of his he only had one incompletion against the colts back in in 2020 i think it was uh so that guy i mean he he can do it and you know he would be fired up for a game back in jacksonville he's one of those guys that just kind of finds motivation and everything but uh what are you feeling this year? Feeling another split or how's it going to go? No, I think the Jaguars are going to win both games. It's just that I don't think it's the easy game that we think. I'm going to be interested to see what Fando says about the spread because I think these games are going to be close. You mentioned a 6-3 game about four years ago last year up in Indy with 34 27 and then the thing about that game is that's the game where they realized they had to take Shaquille Griffin out of the

game if you recall he was getting toasted I think he probably gave up 10 first downs if I'm not mistaken and the receivers were catching the ball short and I know it's a different offense but the Jaguars have to prove to me that one one, they can tackle people on the shallow crosses. And then they have to stop guys from getting too many yards or run after catch-alls because that's why they lost the game in Indy last year. Yeah, you just really never know. For a team to win by 24 one week and then just a few weeks later lose by a touchdown you this this rivalry is you just truly never know and there are so many x factors who's going to be quarterback for the colts will leonard even be out there because he's still not practicing we'll see how it goes in training camp

but there's just there's just so much to look at uh but coming up next we're going to look at the afc south as a whole because there are the te Texans, there are the Titans in this thing as well. And, you know, there's a healthy disrespect all four ways around. But you also you also have to know what these teams do well also. So here here coming up next, we'll talk about that. All right, Wig. So I'm going to go ahead and assume you think the Jaguars are going to repeat again. You know, it's when you look at the body of work from all four teams. But how do you see this whole thing stacking up? Does Tennessee, do they put any fear in you anymore,

or are they just kind of falling to the wayside? No, as long as Mike Vrabel is there, they're going to put fear in me. And Jeffrey Simmons and Kevin Byard, I'll just name two guys that are pretty much first-team all-pro type guys. Oh, yeah. And Mike Vrabel, he's going to have them. Vrabel and Dan Campbell, they probably cut from the same tree a little bit and the same cloth, meaning they're going to be motivated.

They're going to play harder. Remember, the Jaguars were this close to losing that game to Tennessee last year, and they were playing with like a third-string quarterback. So they will always figure out a way to be who they are and i didn't even mention derrick henry they still have derrick henry you know he's a jacksonville native but they still have derrick henry and they still have in their mind that they're not far away from where they were when they were winning 12 games every year and going and representing and even going to the AFC championship game. So we have to at least give them the respect that they deserve, but I

would give them respect anyway, because they're in the NFL. Houston took Kansas City to overtime last year, right? There's no free walks in this league. People, you know, you can't just show up and be, go look at all of these rosters go find whatever you think is the worst roster in the league and look at it everybody was an all-american in either high school or college they're all good they were names that you know so these guys have a lot of pride and if you're not on your game if you're not playing well jaguars gave up 48 points last year to detroit i mean so if you're not on your game and things get away from you, if you don't protect the football,

you notice I didn't say avoid fumbling. I hate talking about negative stuff. So I say if you don't protect the football and if you don't get your defense off the field and if you have dumb penalties, you can find yourself on the other end of a blowout really, really fast. Oh, yeah. Momentum is for real. That's

one thing, especially Houston. You mentioned them a couple times houston beat jacksonville last year bro they did and the colts beat the chiefs somehow in week three like the the parody and just any given sunday is it's for real uh so houston they you know for a couple years now they haven't been an exciting team they're they're there and they can be competitive week in and week out. But they're not they're not like one of those embarrassing teams. But now they got C.J. Stroud, who is a lot of people's top quarterback in the whole draft. You know, they yeah, me too. Right there with you. They've got some receiving talent that can be kind of exciting.

They lost Brandon Cooks. They trade him to the Cowboys. But is there enough there in Houston where you think they could take that next step now that Stroud's in the building they can game plan it and scheme it up a little bit it's going to be interesting to see what they do on offense because D'Amico Ryans is a defensive coach but they're going to play defense like their hair is on fire they got a lot of good young players. I'm a big Will Anderson fan as well. So I really, really do believe that that's going to be this year's Detroit from a couple of years ago, where

they're just going to play lights out, play extremely hard, be a hard out every single week. You're going to leave the game with them bruised up because they're going to come at it. They're going to come and approach the game in a different way. There's no other team in the NFC South. If you had to, like, make me be a fan of a team other than Jacksonville,

because I think the Jaguars are still in their kindergarten stage of being great, too. They're still in their infancy. Houston is not far away. And now they took a route to get there with their quarterback getting 17,000 massages all over the place and losing draft picks. I mean, getting draft picks and coaches getting fired after one year, like two years in a row. And I mean, it was ugly.

You had all your Hall of Fame guys getting traded out of there. D hop in J.J. Watt and everybody calling it a dumpster fire and nobody liking the people in the front office. So they went a bad route. They went around the long side of the mountain to get where they are now, but now they're reaping the benefits from being so putrid. And they did a lot of good things with their resources.

They got two of the five best players in the draft this year. I would be very, very enthusiastic about D'Amico Ryans because he is a very infectious coach that played there. And everyone remembers him and how he was. And everyone believed this is going to work. So there's somebody that you're giving a side eye to. You know, you don't get afraid of anybody in the league. You have to know who you are and you have to go out and do your thing. But I'm watching a little Houston, little Houston, Damian Pierce.

Damian Pierce. I wanted the Jaguars to draft him in the third or fourth round, but they didn't do it. He is a heck of a football player, man. And do yourself a favor. If you ever want to compare Damian Pierce to anybody, go watch old tapes of Larry Sinners. You call me an onk and an OG. They run almost identical, and they are hard to bring down.

So, yeah, Houston's a a problem I hate to be a cliche when I say it like that but they might be a problem I I gotta agree with you I I definitely respect what they've done this offseason because in my opinion outside of Shane Steichen D'Amico Ryans was like the other top candidate like for the Colts it was either Steichen or D'Amico Ryans should have been the target from from day one he went to Houston C.J. Stroud you know as much as I wanted Anthony Richardson with the Colts C.J. Stroud was my guy they went and got him and that was a move I even talked to people who covered Houston day in day out they didn't think that was likely either because Stroud has

a lot of people who have been in a circle before that Sean Watson has had, and they just didn't think that was going to happen. The Texans were just not going to go down that road again. And I got to give them credit for just going out and getting a guy who they think is going to help build them for the future. And then being aggressive and going and getting Will Anderson, those are aggressive cornerstone moves that they made. And I've, I've really got to kind of applaud them for that. That's a good sign, though. A good sign is I don't believe in not drafting people because of the people around them,

because then you're blaming the people around Deshaun Watson for his conduct. And I don't think that that's fair. I don't believe in not drafting an Ohio State quarterback because two or three of them didn't pan out. And, you know, Joe Burrow, I don't believe it. I never believe, I don't believe uniforms and the people around you. You hear stuff about guys in the NBA, like some of the stuff in the news now, and they're going, but it needs to change the people around him.

Maybe he's the bad one. Maybe he's the ringleader. Maybe he's calling the shots. And you can't blame it. I don't think all of those people were around Deshaun Watson when he was doing whatever he was doing. Whether it's illegal or not, I'm not accusing anybody of anything. But I'm just saying, we're here, right?

So I think you judge C.J. Stroud based on just judging C.J. Stroud and looking at him and doing an independent evaluation. And I applaud Houston for doing that and not succumbing to all of that stuff. And then somebody getting fired because the kid goes somewhere else and throws 35 touchdowns for the first three years of his career. And so you know what that would mean. It would mean like you didn't do your job.

So kudos to them for doing that and going out and have the bravery to trade next year's first-round pick. I believe they did to move up to get Will Anderson. They're just saying it's not going to be number one because we ain't picking number one again. And that is brazen in my opinion. So, yeah, man, Houston is a bit of an issue. I like it.

Yeah, and so I'll put you on the spot here. If you were going to make a bold prediction for anything in the division to happen this season, kind of like, you know, last season you planted your flag with the Jaguars. Is there something you're confident that maybe is bold that is going to happen within this division coming up? Well, only one team is going to make the playoffs. I'm predicting that going to be Jacksonville.

That makes sense. But no one will be a doormat. I think the floor for games one for the team that comes in fourth place is six games oh okay and the ceiling may be nine and i don't think nine gets you in this year because you got aaron rogers i think you might get three out of the afc east that's just how that's just how crazy it is or the afc north with all of those teams up there and all of those quarterbacks how about those quarterbacks in that division? You know what I'm saying? Always competitive.

So, you know, for me, I think there's one team. One team goes. But the other three teams might be responsible for saying who doesn't go in the other divisions. This will be the division that nobody wants to even deal with, if not this year, next year. But I really do believe there's a difference between Jacksonville and everybody else. And even if it's not something that you see on paper, it's something that's here with Jacksonville. They walk different.

They act differently. They really, really believe. They thought they were going to beat the Chiefs, bro. And they were down seven and right there knocking on the door to tie the game up. And they threw a pick. So they really, really do believe in themselves. And the example I used on my show, on the Locked on Jaguars show, is this. We can say that that was a one-year wonder or Cinderella.

But we thought that about the New England Patriots when they beat the greatest show on turf. They get a walk off field goal and everybody was like, this is the greatest upset in NFL history. Oh, and they proceed to win five more and create a dynasty. So was it really a great upset or was it the beginning of something special? And they had to actually get over that hump and they beat one of the all-time great offensive teams and once they did it they had something in their dna that made them believe that they were champions and i think the jaguars because they kept the team together they got something in their dna last year that's going to carry them and i don't know how far it's going to carry them but i do think it's going to carry them to the point where they're going to sit atop this division.

And another thing real quick, all these other teams changing quarterbacks, and even in Tennessee where they have Tannehill, who they've drafted two quarterbacks in the last two drafts to try to find a replacement for him. I believe the combination of Doug Peterson and Trevor Lawrence gives this franchise the type of stability that it really, really needs. And it's level-headed. It's not arrogant. It's really about the work. And it's about they got Trevor insulated with nothing but football people from Press Taylor to Mike McCoy. They really and Doug Peterson is a quarterback by trade, but he still had these guys in between him and Trevor Lawrence.

The year before with Urban, they had Trevor doing everything. They had him doing press conferences. He was like Ari Flash. He was like the press secretary, dude. Every time somebody got mad at Urban, they'd roll Trevor out there. And it seems like Trevor probably was cooking breakfast for them dudes every day, doing everything in the building because it was almost this laissez-faire attitude where we got a franchise guy just give him the ball and get out of the way it doesn't work like that it does not Brady had help around him Peyton Manning had help around him um coach Moore and all of these guys they were around him Bruce Arians they were there and I think you have to the more people think the more talented the player the less structure I – people think the more talented the player,

the less structure. I disagree. I think the more talented the player, the more structure he needs just to keep him where he needs to be so he can focus on being a quarterback. Remember Robert Griffin. You remember the Andrew Luck stuff. You remember Robert Griffin had carte blanche to run in and out of Daniel Snyder's office and he wasn't around his teammates and wasn't ingratiating himself with the

guys. Russell Wilson style now. See how that worked out? What happens when you force your guy to just be one of the guys? Just be the quarterback. Be the leader. Be their guy. I'd rather all of y'all be mad at me than any of them be mad at you. That's the way a quarterback is supposed to be. He's supposed to be a part of the team, but he's supposed to be a leader that they respect. I think that's what way a quarterback is supposed to be. He's supposed to be a part of the team, but he's supposed to be a leader that they respect. And I think that's what the Jacksonville Jaguars have now. It's that combination of those two guys,

I believe gives them the stability to win this division for two years in a row. I got to agree with you. I mean, this feels different than 2017 or whenever it was when they made that deep playoff run. It feels like quarterback in a division and they won. Yeah.

It feels like there's foundation here for longevity for this team to keep making on. They've got nice young pieces that, you know, obviously having the young quarterback and head coach marriages is incredibly pivotal. And it looks like Jacksonville has got it. Like for the first time in a while,

it seems like their division to hold on to for another team can prove that it's theirs to take. It's the Jacksonville Jaguars division. I'm going to give you this before we go. The 2017 Jaguars that became the 2018 Jaguars, that's what happens. I'm going to give you an old lacoste nostril. Lacoste nostril. You never let muscle make decisions. That's like when Paul Castellano was killed

and John Gotti and Sammy the Bull took over the organization. You never let your muscle. They're there for a reason. The defense was the leaders of that team. They were the muscle, but they were the leaders because Blake wasn't. Blake Bortles wasn't. And what happens when the muscle takes charge? You got Jalen Ramsey. You got Dante

Fowler. You got Yannick Ngakwe. You got all kinds of stuff going on. Those guys should have never been put in that position. The best players on the team were your defensive players. Now, the best player on the team is your quarterback, and he's your coach on the field, and I think that's why Jacksonville has an advantage.

I like that. See, that's going to be another pull quote from the video six months from now or whatever when we're looking back at the division winner. So we'll save some more of that stuff for the division intro video when we get the other guys in here. But, Wig, thanks so much for joining us today, man.

This was great to kick off our division preview. Yes, sir. I appreciate it. You got to return the favor now. I ain't going to take this one, but we're going to record one day real soon. I want to do mine a little bit later, but we're going to record real soon for Locked On Jaguars. For sure. You've got

us. Everybody, remember, like I just said, Tony's going to kick us off with this AFC South preview. If you don't already follow follow Locked on Jaguars. Follow Tony there on Twitter. His tag is right there. Locked on Colts, Jake Arthur, NFL, Zach Hicks, too, on Twitter. Subscribe to all of us on YouTube.

Ratings and reviews especially. That goes a long way in boosting us up the charts. That means you get to hear more of us. You get to hear more of Tony. Re get to hear more of Tony reaching out to more of the airwaves. And, uh, with that, we will see you guys tomorrow.